Press Releases

ACLU FOIA Litigation Reveals ICE Actively Considering Proposals to Expand Immigration Detention in Kansas

New documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union reveal that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is actively considering proposals to expand its immigration detention capacity in Kansas as well as California, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Washington state.
Issue Areas: Immigrants' Rights

NPAP and the ACLU Help Kansas Make Historic Move to End Nation’s Longest Wait for Inmate Mental Health Treatment

This Monday, the Kansas Department of Disability and Aging Services announced a historic settlement with the National Police Accountability Project and the ACLU of Kansas to reduce the wait times for people awaiting competency evaluations and restoration services at Larned State Hospital.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform

For the 7th Year, Kansas Election Protection Going Strong

The statewide, nonpartisan Election Protection program responding to voter issues in Kansas will enter its seventh year this election. 
Issue Areas: Voting Rights

New Report: 85,000 Kansans with Past Felonies Currently Eligible to Vote

A new report from the ACLU of Kansas finds that a shockingly large number of Kansans—nearly 85,000, or 1 in every 35 people in the state, are returning citizens who have completed sentences for past felonies and are eligible to register and vote under Kansas law.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights

WEDNESDAY: Wyandotte Unified Government to Consider Resolution Supporting Language Access for Voting Materials

The Board of Commissioners will hear testimony and consider a resolution introduced by Mayor Garner.  The resolution calls on Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott to provide better language access for voters through translated election materials.
Issue Areas: Voting Rights

MONDAY: Historic Hearings Begin in Case Challenging the Death Penalty and Death Qualification in Kansas

Hearings will begin Monday in a sweeping challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty in Kansas and to the practice of death qualification, which disproportionately excludes those who oppose the death penalty from juries, such as Black prospective jurors, women, and people of faith.

ACLU and Partners Challenge Death Qualification and the Death Penalty in Kansas

The ACLU and its co-counsel argue that death qualification is discriminatory, unconstitutional, and undermines the principles at the core of the legal system.

TUESDAY, Oct. 8: Mayor Garner, Wyandotte County Officials to Call for Secretary of State to Provide Language Access for Voters

Wyandotte County elected officials, including Mayor Tyrone Garner, will head a press conference announcing support for a county commission resolution calling on Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott to provide voting materials in Spanish for voters
Issue Areas: Voting Rights

Judge Grants Final Approval of Settlement in Wichita Gang List Challenge

A federal judge orally approved of a proposed settlement Friday at a hearing, resolving a class action lawsuit against the Wichita Police Department for its gang database. A written order will follow.
Issue Areas: Criminal Legal Reform