News & Commentary

The ACLU of Kansas responded to the court ruling and a statement can be found below: This is a disappointing denial of the rights of those most impacted by the current administration’s cruel crusade against students in Kansas to participate in a lawsuit that will directly impact their future. The court has allowed the Department of Justice, in collusion with Attorney General Kobach, to slam the door on hardworking Kansas students, even though Kansans have long supported providing all children in our state the opportunity to learn. Jessica Swonger, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Kansas

The ACLU of Kansas issued a statement against the decision: “This is a disappointing denial of the rights of those most impacted by the current administration’s cruel crusade against students in Kansas to participate in a lawsuit that will directly impact their future.”

Jessica Swonger, staff attorney with the ACLU of Kansas, said the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the ACLU of Kansas filed a motion in July to intervene on behalf of students impacted by U.S. v. Kansas. “This is a disappointing denial of the rights of those most impacted by the current administration’s cruel crusade against students in Kansas to participate in a lawsuit that will directly impact their future,” Swonger said. “The court has allowed the Department of Justice, in collusion with Attorney General Kobach, to slam the door on hardworking Kansas students, even though Kansans have long supported providing all children in our state the opportunity to learn.”

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.

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.

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.

“The only way they can do that is by tapping into local police forces,” said Micah Kubic, the executive director of the ACLU of Kansas.

For weeks, reports of ICE activity in Olathe seemed to arrive almost daily, with residents documenting detentions at apartment complexes, businesses, gas stations and intersections and community volunteers tracking federal agents across the city. But since the July 11 detention of a U.S. citizen in Olathe, few new public reports have surfaced in the city, according to local ICE watch groups. Here’s what we know:

The Kansas American Civil Liberties Union stressed in a social media post last week that bystanders would only be able to record interactions by law enforcement outside of the 25-foot buffer zone.