News & Commentary

The Department of Justice is suing Kansas over a 2004 law that allows some immigrants without legal status in the U.S. to receive in-state tuition at Kansas colleges and universities.

Micah Kubic, executive director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said the DOJ’s action was a coordinated attack from the federal government and Kobach on Kansas children. He said Kobach was “so determined to collude with the Trump-Vance administration that he will misuse our courts to attack the laws of the very state he serves.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas called the consent decree “a cruel misuse of our courts” against people who have lived in Kansas for years. “Our state has made the conscious decision to protect and provide a path forward for all children who live in our neighborhoods to ensure they can access a college education and contribute to Kansas’ workforce and economy,” Executive Director Micah Kubic said in a statement. “For decades, Kansas in-state tuition has opened doors for students who have persevered to become health care workers, teachers, attorneys, and other professionals and make this state better. This is an aggressive attempt to slam that door shut and punish young Kansans who dare to dream.”

The U.S. Department of Justice and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach's office intend to end in-state tuition benefits for undocumented immigrants.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas blasted the joint move by the Trump administration and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. “Kobach is so determined to collude with the Trump-Vance administration that he will misuse our courts to attack the laws of the very state he serves,” Micah Kubic, executive director of ACLU Kansas, said in a statement Wednesday. “He does not, in fact, get to single-handedly decide who is a Kansan.”

If they do have an arrest warrant, ICE officers can enter the home of the person on the warrant if they think that person is in the home. But removal/deportation warrants don’t allow officers to enter the home without permission, according to the ACLU.

In four Midwestern states, immigrants routinely won habeas corpus cases in federal courts. But the legal landscape is changing.

“These new provisions break down the boundaries that exist between local and federal operations. They expose agencies in our state to federal civil rights litigation and it’s all for the goal of targeting immigrants in our community,” Logan DeMond, the director of policy and research for ACLU Kansas, said. “This is a direct attack on due process. There are serious constitutional concerns with this legislation. It’s not just an attack on immigrants. It is an attack on all of our rights.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas in 2017 analyzed the legal liability of local law enforcement when they operate under the 287(g) contracts for ICE. Because they are free to disregard detainers, those agreements have not been found in court decisions to be a defense for unlawful detention, the ACLU said, listing lawsuits. “Jailers cannot evade responsibility for unlawful detention by claiming the federal government required them to hold the person on an immigration detainer,” ACLU’s report said.