LOCAL IMPACT
The Dayton Daily News first reported Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley’s comments about welcoming unaccompanied children to the city, and the controversy that has ensued. Our reporters will continue to cover this important story as it develops.
Read the letter
U.S. Rep. Mike Turner and six other local leaders sent a letter Sunday night to President Barack Obama saying Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley does not speak for the region with her interest in sheltering immigrant and refugee children here.
“We are writing to express that our community does not support Mayor Whaley’s proposal and to further express that our community does not have the available resources to support such a proposal,” the letter says, citing potential costs to law enforcement, education, health care and housing.
“In addition, Mayor Whaley does not have the authority to make such an offer for the city of Dayton.”
The letter is signed by Turner, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer, all three Greene County commissioners and the mayors of Beavercreek and Centerville.
Turner, R-Dayton, represents the 10th congressional district which is made up of Montgomery, Greene and part of Fayette counties. He served as mayor of Dayton from 1994-2002.
All seven signatories to the letter are Republicans. Whaley is a Democrat.
“While our hearts go out to those affected by the border crisis, including the unaccompanied children who are now at our border, our community is not prepared to provide support or assistance to solve this crisis,” it concludes.
Whaley is among several mayors across the country — including Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley — who say they can help house immigrant children detained at the border. More than 57,000 children, many unaccompanied, have arrived since October mostly fleeing violence and living conditions in El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
“I never reached out to the federal government,” Whaley said late Sunday after hearing about the letter. “The federal government reached out to city of Dayton. …“Like all partners, regional partners, state partners and federal partners, we do our best to answer when asked.”
Obama has requested $3.7 billion to address the crisis, some of which could be used to help pay for housing the children in cities across the country. Whether that will happen or how it would work is unclear.
“Congress has failed to address the immigration issue in America,” Whaley said. “Unfortunately this lack of leadership shifts the burden of responsibility to cities like Dayton who must provide support to prop up a broken system.”
In an interview with the Dayton Daily News on Sunday, Turner called Whaley’s comments irresponsible and dangerous stating that Dayton does not have the ability or resources to respond to support undocumented children.
“She does not speak for the community,” Turner said. “She does not have any resources to provide for this. It would be a regional crisis. She has done nothing to approach the regional government to try to coordinate a response or secure coordinated resources. This is an irresponsible initiative on her part.”
Whaley said if the city is asked to play a role in assisting the undocumented children being held in border states, it is important for the city to do its duty and show compassion for them.
“As long as these children are here, we have an obligation to ensure that they receive basic humanitarian services as they go through the federal process to determine their status in this country,” she said. “As Americans, we provide due process rights to all people regardless of how they arrive here. It is what makes us great as a nation.”
But Sheriff Plummer fears that the initiative could drain limited resources needed to care for the county’s population that’s here legally, including impoverished residents of Dayton. He noted county voters are being asked to approve an increased human services levy this fall.
“We can’t even meet the needs of our community. Let’s get our poverty taken care of first.” he said. “We got the red carpet rolled out with no guarantee of funding.”
He also worried about bringing teenagers here who could fall in with gangs that he says feed the region’s heroin epidemic.
Dayton Daily News reporters reached out to the three Greene County commissioners who signed on to the letter, but they did not return phone calls.
Beavercreek Mayor Brian Jarvis said he’s not opposed to talking about how the region can help children seeking refuge from violence or persecution. But his concern is that Whaley began discussions with federal officials before even talking to other area cities about how they would be affected.
“Everything from aquifers to development in our community we at least want to sit down and talk about, and on this one we did not,” he said. “What impacts one city impacts the others.”
Staff Writer Tom Gnau contributed to this report.
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