Kansas law enforcement agencies sign agreements for immigration enforcement

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – Eighteen Kansas counties, including Sedgwick County, have signed agreements with ICE under the 287(g) program, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation announced Friday.

“We will find you, we will turn you over to ICE and you will be deported,” the KBI said about their agreement with ICE under the 287(g) program signed by 18 counties across the state.

In Sedgwick County, this takes the form of the warrant service model, meaning if the agency arrests a non-citizen, ICE has 48 hours to pick them up.

“If you are a registered offender and you are here illegally, you might as well leave now,” said KBI Director Tony Mattivi.

Sarah Balderas, an immigration lawyer in Wichita, said currently it’s up to counties whether they want to sign an agreement with ICE, but the KBI could change this in the future.

“Law enforcement agencies are forced to be trained as ICE agents and to carry out ICE enforcement. That’s the worst-case scenario,” Balderas said.

Current enforcement practices

While it may be concerning for some to see local law enforcement working with ICE, lawyers like Balderas want to remind people these laws have always been in place and are just being enforced to a higher degree than Kansas has seen in the past.

“We’ve had that 48-hour ICE window for a very long time. And essentially, Sedgwick County is not calling ICE and saying, ‘Hey, we got someone. It’s public record,,” Balderas said.

Balderas said her firm has a good relationship with law enforcement because she wants her clients to be able to trust the police.

“We never want to live in a society where people who are here unlawfully are afraid to call the police,” she said.

Balderas added that Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter has previously made it clear that he doesn’t want Wichita’s law enforcement to act as ICE agents.

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