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
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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).
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.
News & Commentary
ice

Immigration enforcement in Olathe slows, continues elsewhere in area

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas claimed via email that law enforcement entities are using the HALO Act to discourage bystanders from documenting the activity of federal agents. The nonprofit organization also claimed the law raises safety concerns for Kansans who encounter agents.

Cases, Campaigns & Legislation

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.