Whitewater Times

Miriam Martinez, a resident of Walworth, expressed concerns about the border policies under the current administration. "My parents came to America legally in 1980 in the hopes of pursuing the American dream for the future of their family." said Martinez, "It is so sad and frustrating to know the Biden Harris administration just opened the border for anyone to walk right in."

"As an American citizen and Mom, I am frightened of who and what they are letting into our country." said Martinez, "The Harris Biden administration opened the border for their own political benefit."

On Oct. 24, Congressman Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) attended a House Judiciary Committee field hearing in Milwaukee titled, “The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Wisconsin Perspectives.” There, Republicans discussed how border policies under the current administration have impacted Wisconsin, with testimonies highlighting Whitewater’s increased migrant population and concerns about illegal drug inflows affecting communities statewide.

“President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open-border policies have enabled our southern border crisis and have negatively impacted Wisconsin communities. Take Whitewater, for example, where the local police department estimates nearly 800-1,000 foreign nationals have settled since just 2022. These kinds of numbers have a tremendous strain on a community whose population is just 15,000,” said Rep. Fitzgerald, according to a press release. 

“Today’s Judiciary Committee field hearing in Milwaukee allowed us members, and the public, to cut through the noise and hear directly from local experts about the difficulties this crisis has brought upon our nation’s communities. It was an important conversation, and I appreciate every single witness for sharing their unique testimony.”

During the field hearing, Republicans discussed the impact of the Biden-Harris administration's border policies on Wisconsin. Testimonies highlighted the strain on Whitewater, Wisconsin, where officials noted a sudden influx of around 1,000 migrants challenging local law enforcement and schools. Rick Rachwal, Co-Founder and Vice-President of Love, Logan Foundation and a resident of Pewaukee, attributed his son’s death to fentanyl, citing illegal drug flow across the border.

The committee heard additional testimonies from several witnesses including Jacob “Jake” J. Curtis, General Counsel and Director at the Institute for Reforming Government; Dale J. Schmidt, Sheriff of Dodge County Sheriff's Department; Eric Toney, District Attorney of Fon du Lac County; and Henri Kinson, Former School Board Member at Whitewater Unified School District.

Democrats criticized the hearing as politically motivated, with the Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign accusing Republicans of prioritizing rhetoric over solutions.

In July, Fitzgerald voted in favor of passing H. Res. 1371, a resolution that condemned Vice President Harris for her failure to secure the U.S. border, as well as the border policies of the Biden-Harris Administration. The final vote was 220 - 196, with six Democrats voting to condemn Vice President Kamala Harris for her “failure to secure the United States border” after being tasked with the duty by President Joe Biden at the beginning of their administration.

On March 24, 2021, Biden announced his appointment of Harris “to lead efforts to stamp migration across the U.S.-Mexico border.” Since Harris’ appointment, the “surge” of illegal aliens crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has grown worse, with May 2024 being the 39th straight month where border crossings were higher than the highest month during former President Donald Trump's administration. 

“Since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took office, there have been over 9.7 million illegal immigrant encounters nationwide,” the resolution said, along with “over 7.9 million illegal immigrant encounters at the United States southern border.” The U.S. Border Patrol has also reported over 2 million “gotaways” during the administration.

Scott Fitzgerald is currently serving in the U.S. Congress, representing Wisconsin’s 5th district. He replaced previous U.S. Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner in 2021. He previously served in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1995 to 2021. Fitzgerald graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh in 1985 with a BS. Fitzgerald was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1963 and currently lives in Clyman.