TOPEKA, Kan. – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced Monday that his office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) have signed a first-of-its-kind agreement in the region with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, empowering KBI agents to collaborate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to deport criminal undocumented immigrants.
Kobach emphasized the need for the agreement, stating, “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.” Kansas is among the first states nationwide to establish such a partnership.
The agreement, authorized by Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, will provide specialized ICE training to a select group of KBI agents. This training will authorize them to arrest undocumented individuals, execute warrants related to certain immigration violations, and issue immigration detainers.
KBI Director Tony Mattivi clarified that this agreement won’t alter the KBI’s investigative priorities. “The KBI is pleased to have another tool at our disposal to get known criminal offenders out of our communities,” Mattivi said. “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 – major violent crimes, crimes committed against children, and targeting drug trafficking organizations.”
