By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com
ProPublica, a Pulitzer prize winning nonprofit news organization with the tagline, “Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest,” published an article about Whitewater on their website that was initially titled “The Police Chief and the Immigrant” on October 24. Eventually the headline was changed to “What Happened in Whitewater: How immigration is affecting one small Wisconsin city.” It’s a very lengthy article, with over 5700 words. An audio recording that is provided is over 34 minutes long. Normally The Whitewater Banner would print a few quotes from such a piece, but we are honoring ProPublica’s requirement that their articles only be reprinted in their entirety. Photos, however, could not be reprinted. The Banner has used one of their photos on the homepage under the practice of fair use.
The lead author of the article, Melissa Sanchez, is a Chicago-based reporter who focuses on immigration and low wage-workers. She is the daughter of immigrants from Mexico and El Salvador, and she speaks Spanish. Sanchez and other ProPublica journalists have visited the city over a dozen times since January, conducting many interviews with city staff, long-term residents and recent immigrants. Police Chief Dan Meyer told The Whitewater Banner that he has spoken with Melissa seven or eight times, and “has nothing but good things to say” about her. She really poured a lot of time into her research and writing the article, he said. Meyer felt that his comments were fairly represented in the article, and that “it’s about as balanced” as could be expected. Undoubtedly readers will have varying opinions, and Meyer expressed his view that “opinions need to get out there to make progress.” The Banner’s Facebook page does allow for comments to be made, with the trust that kindness and civility be evidenced. The ProPublica article may be accessed here.
Background
In December, 2023, City of Whitewater Police Chief Dan Meyer composed a letter to President Biden regarding the challenges faced by our relatively small community in serving the estimated 800-1000 immigrants who had arrived, primarily from Nicaragua, beginning in early 2022. Examples were given of the difficulties the Police Department was experiencing in communicating with this Spanish-speaking population, encountering many unlicensed drivers with fake IDs, and investigating some serious crimes. “None of this information is shared as a means of denigrating or vilifying this group of people,” the letter stated, “We know that challenges will come with the addition of any significant number of people to a City. In fact, we see great value in the increasing diversity that this group brings to our community. We simply need to ensure that we can continue to properly serve this group, and the entirety of the City of Whitewater.” The letter was also signed by City Manager John Weidl and Common Council members.
City staff and officials were shocked by how quickly state and national media picked up the story. A number of journalists have contacted them, and in some cases, even visited the city to develop stories that have sometimes included inaccuracies. A presidential candidate even mentioned the city’s challenges. Little governmental assistance has resulted from the plea, although the city was recently awarded a grant totaling $375,000 over three years to assist with the hiring of three additional police officers.
