TOPEKA — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation formally agreed to dedicate agents to enhance collaboration with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the search for people without documentation to legally be in the country.
Under the state-federal partnership, an unspecified number KBI agents would receive ICE training that enabled them to issue immigration detainers, serve warrants for some immigration violations and arrest people allegedly in the United States without authorization.
“The KBI is pleased to have another tool at our disposal to get known criminal offenders out of our communities,” said Tony Mattivi, director of the state law enforcement agency. “This agreement will not shift KBI investigative priorities, but will allow us to more swiftly achieve justice in cases in which the KBI currently focuses.”
The KBI’s authority would stem from a federal law known as Section 287(g). It enabled ICE to delegate to state and local law enforcement officers authority to perform specific immigration officer functions under the federal agency’s oversight.
For example, the program permitted ICE to partner with state and local agencies to identify incarcerated individuals amenable to removal from the U.S. before released into a community.
ICE has comparable agreements with dozens of law enforcement agencies that were initiated during the administrations of Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The national roster included agreements signed in 2020 with the Finney and Jackson county sheriff’s departments in Kansas.
On Monday, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach said his office and the KBI signed the agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“All across Kansas, illegal aliens who are dangerous criminals or gang members are released back to the streets on a regular basis. That will end. This agreement will ensure that those criminals are deported,” Kobach said.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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Know your rights
If you’re stopped by police:
• Rather than be confrontational during an interaction with police, it’s better to exercise your right to remain silent.
• If an officer asks you for identifying information, confirm that you are being required to provide that information.
• You do not have to consent to a search. Clarify whether you are able to refuse a search. If an officer believes your car contains evidence, your car can be searched without your consent.
More: ACLU of Kansas — Know Your Rights when Stopped by Police in Kansas
If you’re confronted by ICE:
• Stay calm. If you have lawful immigration status, show your documentation. If you’re undocumented, don’t provide false documents, and don’t discuss your immigration status with police, ICE or other officials.
• If an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official comes to your door, don’t open your door. Officers must have a warrant signed by a judge to enter your home. ICE “warrants” do not grant authority to enter a home without consent of the occupant.
More: National Immigrant Justice Center — Know Your Rights: What to do if You or a Loved One is Detained; If You Encounter ICE
If someone you know is arrested in Douglas County:
• You can check the jail’s booking log at this link to confirm and see if a bond amount has been set.
• If bond is set in the case, you can pay it online via this link.
• The Douglas County Community Bail Fund might be able to help with limited assistance for misdemeanor bails. Call 785-764-3684 or email DGCOBailFund@gmail.com.
