Advocates with two local organizations on Saturday called on Lawrence residents to amplify and uphold the rights of their undocumented immigrant neighbors.
During an informational session at the Lawrence Public Library, speakers with Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation (AIRR) and Sanctuary Alliance further emphasized the need for advocacy work to continue even outside of the Trump administration.
Sanctuary Alliance is a volunteer-led group in Lawrence focused on supporting city policy that promotes sanctuary status and resourcing the local immigrant community. AIRR is a Kansas City-based nonprofit advocating for immigrants’ rights. Among other services, AIRR provides programming such as Know Your Rights trainings and Immigration 101 sessions, like the one hosted at LPL.
Itzel Vargas-Valenzuela, program director of AIRR, gave a presentation on the state of national and regional immigration law and enforcement to provide context for attendees interested in learning about the current state of immigration legislation in Lawrence.
As the current Trump administration gears itself toward mass deportation and criminalization of undocumented immigration status, Vargas-Valenzuela discussed how Kansans are seeing the ripple effects.
For example, Leavenworth is fighting to keep a private company from contracting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to open an immigrant detention center. A recent report shows immigrants held within the Leavenworth federal prison face an “unsanitary, inequitable and unhealthy environment.”
Meanwhile, a Topeka man has faced detention even after qualifying for immigration protections.
Mariel Ferreiro, a volunteer with Sanctuary Alliance and speaker at Immigration 101, helped organize the community to push for the passage of the sanctuary city ordinance in 2020.
Ferreiro discussed the history of the legislation, including the 2022 revision in which the Lawrence City Commission struck key provisions following a Kansas House bill targeting sanctuary city legislation.
Ferreiro said the ordinance still stipulates that local police and city employees “are not to do the bidding of federal immigration enforcement, unless requested (by ICE or the Department of Homeland Security, DHS).” Other details of the ordinance are outlined in the provided flyer.
202506-Sanctuary-Alliance-flyers-rFlyer courtesy of Sanctuary Alliance
However, a now-withdrawn webpage on the DHS website in May demanded that more than 500 sanctuary jurisdictions, including Lawrence, “review and revise their policies to align with Federal immigration laws.”
The City of Lawrence pulled a controversial resolution from the city commission’s meeting agenda last month after it sparked outrage among residents. The resolution proposed that the city cease enforcing equal rights ordinances to prevent the loss of federal funding, which could affect protections for immigrants provided by the sanctuary city and other ordinances.
It is unclear whether an iteration of the resolution will appear on a future commission meeting agenda.
In response to federal actions, Sanctuary Alliance has been “ramping up some of our efforts,” Ferreiro said.
They’ve partnered with Somos Lawrence — a grassroots organization that advocates for non-English speakers with a focus on Spanish-speaking communities — to establish a rapid response network. This network reviews potential ICE sightings and intends to provide support to affected families.
Although there has only been one confirmed ICE arrest in Lawrence so far this year, Ferreiro believes it is essential to prepare.
“The immigrant community can’t and shouldn’t feel like they’re left alone, and we need Douglas County especially to see this community as deeply woven into the rest of the community,” Ferreiro said.
She encouraged residents to document any suspected ICE activity they observe. Using an adapted flyer from the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, she ran through the steps: maintain a safe distance from the ICE agent, stay firm in your right to record, and focus the video on the officer, not the person being arrested.
Bystanders were also instructed not to go live or post the videos on social media, as this can cause confusion and distress. Ferreiro instead asks that community members submit all information about a potential encounter to the reporting form maintained by Sanctuary Alliance and Somos.
“We need to know information and verify information as quickly and effectively as possible, as a community effort,” she said.
In the near future, Sanctuary Alliance will share a digital form for volunteer signups. For now, she encouraged those who were able to donate to Somos Lawrence, which is a nonprofit organization.
Ferreiro further called on attendees to connect with local organizations supporting immigrant rights and to get to know their neighbors affected by changes in immigration policy.
“Can you be loud and disruptive when people need it?” Ferreiro asked. “We’re (immigrants are) not just important when you know a certain administration demonizes our people … We can care for our community members 24/7.”
A video and audio recording of the full session will be posted on the Lawrence Public Library’s YouTube channel. People who want to stay updated on Sanctuary Alliance initiatives can sign up for their listserv.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), community reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
Read their complete bio here. Read their work for the Times here.
