We've heard from countless Kansans about your concerns since President Donald Trump took office. And understandably so -- in the First 100 Days, the Trump administration has tested every limit, abused every power, and exploited every loophole to silence dissent, disenfranchise marginalized communities, and erode our rule of law. These are deliberate tactics designed to enforce compliance through fear, force, and censorship. But we aren’t backing down. If the Trump administration wants to go after people’s rights and freedoms, they’ll have to go through us first. In the First 100 Days, the ACLU filed over 100 legal actions. More than 1 million ACLU community members have taken action since Election Day, more than 14,000 have been trained as volunteers, and more than 150 Know Your Rights trainings have been held across the country.

In Kansas, we know that President-Elect Trump will have enablers and allies at the state level, chief among them state Attorney General Kris Kobach. Given his pledges—and his 2017-2021 term in office, when the ACLU brought 250 lawsuits and 434 legal actions against his administration’s attacks on civil liberties—we take the president-elect and his legislative allies at their word that that they intend to pursue extremism, chaos, and persecution of vulnerable communities. 

At the ACLU of Kansas, we refuse to concede to, collaborate with, or conspire in these attacks on any of the residents of Kansas—and we know thousands of Kansans are with us in preparing to resist every effort by Donald Trump, Kris Kobach, and their extremist allies to strip away our rights.  But at the ACLU of Kansas, our response to a second Trump Administration is not just to defend but actually expand freedom and justice in this state.  We’ve been planning for the possibility of a second Trump Administration, and our response to a second Trump Administration is informed by a century's worth of experience defending freedom in America. 

Stay informed

1. About the Firewall for Freedom

A.About the Firewall for Freedom

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If you're fired up to protect your fellow Kansans — we invite you join us in our response to build a “firewall for freedom” right here in the Free State:

  • Win proactive victories for voting rights and reform of the criminal justice system in key cities and counties that are supportive of civil liberties. We’re committed to expanding voting rights and making our legal system more just. We’re pursuing proactive, rights-expanding work in these places and on these issues because we believe in pursuing policy changes that make people’s lives better. 
  • Mobilize the mass movement of Kansans who oppose extremism to block state legislative attacks on our rights and our democracy. We expect an all-out assault on voting rights, the independence of state courts, abortion access, LGBTQ+ equality, and immigration during the 2025 state legislative session.  While civil rights retain many champions in Topeka, including Gov. Laura Kelly, we will have to continue to mobilize everyday people in unprecedented numbers to resist these Trump-inspired attacks and prevent harmful laws being adopted. Click here to be part of our Firewall for Freedom, from contacting your legislator on key civil liberties issues during the session, to finding your community to take action on issues in your county.

  • Empower Kansans to work together and exercise their influence and power in their local communities, where they can be most effective in directly responding to attacks on their neighbors' and their own rights. The city and county levels are often the heart of protecting against national threats, and individual residents are often the strongest voices in pushing for the change they wish to see, right where they live.

Join us in building a strong firewall for freedom — together, we will respond to this moment in our nation’s history and create the conditions for a more free and just Kansas.  We will work together to ensure that we can successfully defend freedom in Kansas – from Donald Trump, Kris Kobach, the state legislature, and anyone else who threatens it.  

2. Take Action to Build the Firewall in Your County

A.Take Action to Build the Firewall in Your County

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3. Take Action to Build the Firewall in Our State

A.Take Action to Build the Firewall in Our State

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4. LGBTQ RIGHTS

A.LGBTQ RIGHTS

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5. RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS:

A.RESOURCES FOR IMMIGRANTS' RIGHTS:

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6. TAKE DIRECT ACTION

A.TAKE DIRECT ACTION

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  • Advocates for Immigrants' Rights and Reconciliation: volunteer programs 
  • El Centro is looking for Spanish-speaking volunteers to join their Promotores (Promotors)
  • You can also advocate for local protections in your city or county.
    • While Kansas has a law (HB 2717 proposed and passed in the 2023 session) precluding prevention of federal law enforcement, its major provisions provide that local communities can't bar communication with ICE. Other provisions involve penalties for fraudulent IDs and voter IDs. Local communities can transfer people to ICE and participate in ICE operations. However, local communities CAN still refuse to comply with ICE detainers and warrants.
    • Example of a welcoming city ordinance (Chicago)
  • Learn more about CoreCivic's effort to re-open in Leavenworth as an ICE detention facility here.

7. TOP TEN POLICY IDEAS

A.TOP TEN POLICY IDEAS

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As part of the ACLU's preparation for the 2024 presidential election, we are building strategies to reduce the legal, logistical, and policitcla opportunities a second Trump administration would have to violate civil rights and civil liberties.

Below, we highlight ten of our top policy ideas for state officials:

1. CONSTRUCT A FIREWALL AGAINST CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Issue guidance and/or instructions to state employees to construct a firewall against the use of state resources for Trump adminstration anti-civil rights criminal prosecutions and enforcement measures -- combing concepts underlying so-called shield laws and sanctuary measures to protect immigrants, abortion acces, access to gender-affirming care and First Amendment-protected rights.

2. PASS SHIELD LAW PROTECTIONS

Pass "shield law" policies that attempt to shield those who provide, seek, and help others obtain abortion care -- and sometimes gender-afirming care as well -- in Kansas from civil or criminal repercussions intiated under other states' laws. 

3. PARDON IMIGRANTS TO PREVENT DEPORTATION

Establish processes to consider pardons for thousands of longtime immigrant residents who face deportation because of their state-level convictions. 

4. PROTECT COMMUNITIES FROM IMMIGRATION RAIDS & DEPORTATIONS

Issue guidance to state and local law enforcement prohibiting assistance in immigration raids and related operations. Instruct state and local employees on how to respond to federal requests for security and logistical support for raids. If raids occur, bear witness, and monitor the situation on the ground. Forge networks between impacted families, officials, and service providers.

5. PROTECT PROTEST AND DISSENT

Issue guidance to state and lcoal police departments about policing protests in ways that uphold the right to peaceable protest and dissent.

6. INCREASE ACCESS TO VOTING

Enact laws that increase acces to voting, including laws that establish/improve/expand same-day voter registration, automatic voter registration, early voting, and mail voting; require relevant state agencies to provide voter registration opportunities in agency interations with residents; end felony disenfranchisement; and create state-level voting rights acts that protect against racial discrimination in voting. 

7. AFFIRM DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) PROGRAMS

Enact and expand DEI programs across state and local agencies and incorporate DEI goals into economic tools and policies. This can take the form of formal opinions, guidance, and/or statements that: confirm the legality of DEI programs, inclusive curricula, textbooks, instructional and library materials; remind state/localities and companies of their legal obligations to ensure equitable and inclusive environments; reaffirm the necessity for and benefits of DEI programs; promise legal defense for DEI initiatives in the face of challenges from a Trump administration and more.

8. ENSURE SELF-REPORTING OF GENDER

Pass a policy that ensures gender is always self-reported in Kansas, with no medical documentation requirements, and pledge to refuse to investigate individual's sex assigned at birth.

9. END OR LIMIT PARTICIPATION IN VOLUNTARY JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCES (JTTFS) & FUSION CENTERS

State and local governments should consider ending or limiting their participation in JTTF and fusion centers, as participation in both is voluntary. Limiting or eliminating state and local government's participation in fusion centers and JTTFs may be critical to curtailing the ability of DHS, FBI, and other federal law enforcement agencies to enlist state and local law enforcement into any plans to harm privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties in the states.

10. LIMIT POLICE CONTACTS

Reduce the population of people vulnerable to police contracts under a Trump administration by repealing low-level offenses that i) do not impact public safety and/or ii/ create a risk of unconstitutional policing (traffic, poverty, houselessness, substance use, mental illness, abortion, protest, sex work, immigration etc.)

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