immigration

An open letter signed by a majority of Kanas bishops encouraged Kansans to see immigrants as humans, not criminals. Meanwhile, the Kansas Legislature is pushing the governor to "fully cooperate" with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

The number of people deported without a criminal history continues to rise in Oklahoma. But as local law enforcement leaders enter into new ICE agreements, they say they are trying to take a nuanced approach in line with their community needs.

The immigrant-supporting group Advocates for Immigration Rights and Reconciliation confirmed Thursday night that at least two of the up to 12 people detained in raids the day before had been released.

An immigration advocacy group says the raids were carried out by Homeland Security Investigation agents about midday on Wednesday at El Toro Loco restaurants in Lenexa and Kansas City, Kansas.

President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown has many recent immigrants terrified, hunkering down and holding onto their money. That new fear and frugality is crushing small, mom-and-pop businesses in some immigrant-heavy business corridors, like Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas, just as new tariffs are raising the prices of many products that recent immigrants buy.

The Trump administration's budget bill authorizes $45 billion for more detention centers like the one CoreCivic plans in Leavenworth, Kansas. Groups around Kansas City have organized demonstrations against the ICE facility.

Texas officials praise the revamped immigration database, but some critics are raising concerns about data privacy and accuracy.

As some of Oklahoma's older privately owned prisons are eyed as opportunities for expanding federal immigration detention capacity, one Oklahoma think tank aims to remind residents why more privatized incarceration is a bad deal for them and the state.

While local law enforcement agencies ramp up immigration enforcement in Oklahoma, federal authorities have already started deporting unauthorized immigrants across the state.

The GOP tax and spending bill raises the child tax credit from $2,000 to $2,200, adjusts it annually for inflation, and enshrines it permanently into U.S. tax code. However, another provision requires that the child and both parents all have Social Security numbers.