Kansas immigration

The federal government's purchase of the CoreCivic-operated ICE detention center in Leavenworth is raising questions about whether the city will maintain the same level of oversight it established before the facility reopened.

As the Trump administration continues to bolster deportation efforts, local advocacy groups have reported a rise in immigrant arrests between June 15 and July 3, while Kansas City hosted World Cup matches. The increased ICE presence across the Kansas City metro area has kept residents on edge.

During the recent Kansas legislative session, GOP lawmakers passed a bill overturning a policy that allows thousands of young Kansans to pay for and earn a college education. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill, but Kansas may get sued by the Trump administration.

Behrens spoke alongside other faith leaders and immigrant activists Thursday at an interfaith prayer vigil in Prairie Village. Speakers encouraged churches — especially large congregations — to start fighting for immigrants.

A slim majority of Senate Republicans still backed Senate Bill 254 to end the policy. On Monday, Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill.

Lawrence High School and Free State High School students, who protested immigration enforcement with a walkout in January, are planning a second walkout for Tuesday afternoon.

Kansas lawmakers say that requiring driver's licenses to list legal status would reduce noncitizen voting — something that is exceedingly rare. One study says suspected cases happen just 0.0001% of the time.

After firing the business leaders who accepted a federal contract to design immigration detention facilities, the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation's chairperson compared such sites to Native American reservations.

The lawsuit is one piece of Kobach’s broad range of anti-immigration efforts.

“At no moment did they ever present me with an arrest warrant, did they ever let me see a judge. They never told me anything,” he said.