Immigrants' Rights

In recent years, government-sanctioned attacks on immigrants’ civil rights and liberties have increased in number and intensity. Immigrants face violence, discrimination, detention, and deportation, often without due process. When immigrants are denied equal protection under the law, the constitutional values upon which this country was founded are degraded.

protect immigrants

The ACLU of Kansas is dedicated to expanding and protecting the rights of immigrants in this state, regardless of their citizenship status. We use litigation, advocacy, public outreach, and education to work to lessen the hostility immigrants face on a daily basis on the state and local levels.

Our legal department has successfully petitioned jails in Kansas to stop illegally detaining people for unreasonable amounts of time at the request of federal immigration authorities. Most recently we helped to foil a bill that would have made it impossible for immigrant students raised in Kansas to receive in-state tuition to public universities in Kansas. Through the Know Your Rights project, we’re also working to educate immigrants in Kansas about their rights and supporting the community.

RESOURCES

The Latest

Publication
Placeholder image

Municipal ID Cards

Municipal ID cards are a form of photo identification issued by a city or county government, rather than by the state (as with a driver’s license) or the federal government (as with a passport).
Press Release
Placeholder image

ACLU of Kansas launches “Opportunity Forward”, new campaign for immigrants’ rights in the Free State

The ACLU of Kansas is launching “Opportunity Forward,” a new campaign focused on protecting immigrants’ rights in the state that will prioritize rolling back or preventing 287(g) agreements on the local level, protecting in-state tuition for students, and pushing back against the use of ICE detainers to hold people in local county jails.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights
News & Commentary
rural counties

Rural Kansas is turning majority-minority early

The ACLU of Kansas and partner groups sued Dodge City, in majority-minority Ford County, arguing its citywide elections diluted the votes of the city's Latino majority.
News & Commentary
chase county

Fallout from detentions, deportations echoes across Kansas families, communities

The American Civil Liberties Union now devotes half its time nationally to detention and immigration issues, said Micah Kubic, executive director of the Kansas ACLU. They monitor and sometimes oppose proposed bills.

Cases, Campaigns & Legislation

Campaign
Aug 2026

OPPORTUNITY FORWARD

In Kansas, we believe people should be judged by their character, actions and contributions—not by where they come from, what language they speak, or what they look like. Attacks on immigrant's civil rights from the state and federal level have chipped away at our fundamental values that keep us safe and open the doors to opportunity for the people and families who believe in hard work and education.
Legislation
Aug 18, 2026

ACLU KS Public Comment in Opposition to OP HALO Act Ordinance

The Kansas state legislature passed the HALO Act earlier this year during legislative session and it became state law, effective in July. On August 17, 2026, we submitted opposition testimony to the proposed Overland Park city ordinance, POC-3529’s HALO provision, which unnecessarily incorporates the problematic state law into the city’s code.
Position: Oppose
Court Case
Jul 2, 2026

Motion to Intervene: U.S. v. Kansas (In-state tuition)

On July 1, 2026, MALDEF and the ACLU of Kansas filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit between the U.S. Department of Justice and the state of Kansas on behalf of students without lawful immigration status in Kansas who would be irreparably harmed by the elimination of regular tuition. The DOJ sued the state of Kansas for providing in-state tuition to college students without lawful immigration status. Rather than defend the laws of the state he serves, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach immediately joined the DOJ in asking the court to overturn the law that has been in place since 2004.
Legislation
Apr 24, 2026

Gut and Go: Expansion of ICE Operations to Local Law Enforcement

This bill expands county sheriffs’ authority and the authority of jails not operated by sheriffs to indefinitely detain individuals for civil immigration purposes, insulates law enforcement from accountability, and removes longstanding democratic oversight. The combined effects of this bill—which is part of a larger legislative attack on immigrants and people of color—raise serious constitutional concerns. It significantly expands the authority of federal law enforcement in Kansas, weakens accountability, and threatens Kansans’ right to engage in lawful dissent.
Status: Governor's veto overridden
Position: Oppose