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The bill’s passage has drawn opposition from groups like the ACLU and the Kansas Press Association, who says the bill will violate First Amendment rights. Critics say the vague writing of the bill will lead to legal battles over its enforcement.

“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.

Logan DeMond, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, said mandating arrests and strict pretrial conditions based on the charge level rather than individualized risk to the public disproportionately harmed low-income Kansas because pretrial detention could result in job loss, eviction and disruption of child care. Judges ought to retain leeway to consider bonding based on prior record, flight risk and community ties, he said.

The Kansas ACLU said it is disappointed in the situation. “We are disappointed in the situation we are in but will likely wait to comment when we know more. I am a little concerned that it does not appear the City has developed any detailed language about how the task force / oversight board will operate and who will be on it, but clearly CoreCivic has not wasted any time starting operations,” the Kansas ACLU said in a statement sent to KCTV5.

By the time you read this, those swept up in ICE raids may already be filling some of the 1,000 beds at a troubled for-profit prison in Leavenworth now turned federal detention facility.

Logan DeMond, director of policy and research at ACLU of Kansas, said the bill cannot be viewed in isolation and called it another attack on immigrants in the state.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas sent a statement to KCTV 5 on the city commission’s vote and decision to create a community oversight board: We applaud the Leavenworth residents and the local community who showed up to make their voices heard in the hours of opposition testimony last night. The current language of the SUP still puts a great deal of trust in CoreCivic’s word, and this goes against the very real concerns for safety and human dignity at this facility we all heard last night. We recognize the difficult position the commissioners are in, but it would also be unfortunate if the amendment was an indicator that they have prematurely made a final decision to allow an ICE detention center to open. If this is the route we are taking, then the task force must have full oversight authority and independent investigatory power over CoreCivic. We caution the City against falling into a trap of CoreCivic’s many overtures of collaboration that it undermines the task force’s independence and its real purpose of accountability and intervention, if and when violations of the conditions occur.

The ACLU of Kansas has testified against the bill, arguing it makes it harder to hold federal agents accountable for misconduct and expands immunity without strengthening oversight.