Kris Kobach Calls Out Kansas Sanctuary City: You Are ‘Breaking Federal Law’

In this Oct. 16, 2017, file photo, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach answers questions
AP Photo/John Hanna

United States Senate candidate Kris Kobach is calling out a Kansas sanctuary city, demanding they drop their policy of shielding criminal illegal aliens from deportation and committing to lead the fight to defund sanctuary cities nationwide.

This week, Roeland Park, Kansas Police Chief John Morris announced his department’s new sanctuary policy that bans police officers from turning criminal illegal aliens over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency for deportation.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Kobach called on the Roeland Park Police Department to drop the policy and vowed to defund sanctuary cities nationwide if elected to the Senate in the state’s 2020 senatorial race.

Kobach said:

It is a sad day for Kansas when one of its cities puts the interests of illegal aliens over the safety of its own citizens. When ICE seeks custody of an illegal alien it is almost always because the alien has a criminal past or is a known gang member. Roeland Park is now going to be releasing those illegal aliens onto the street.

The Roeland Park policy severely restricts its officers from sending this information. The city is breaking federal law by adopting this policy, but unfortunately federal law doesn’t include penalties for cities that disobey it. As Senator, I will push to restrict federal funds to sanctuary cities that put American lives in danger. Many lives have been taken by illegal aliens in Kansas. This sanctuary policy increases the chances that more lives will be lost.

Kobach detailed recent cases where Americans have been killed by illegal aliens in the Kansas City metro area, including a March 2016 quadruple homicide allegedly committed by illegal alien Pablo Antonio-Vitorino, the September 2016 killing of Johnson County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Collins by illegal alien Adrian Espinosa-Flores, and the death of Amanda Bixby in February 2007 at the hands of illegal alien Ricardo De-Leon.

Angel Dad Dennis Bixby said he is forever separated from his daughter Amanda because of illegal immigration in Kansas:

There will be no more birthdays, no holidays, no wedding for me to give her away, and no grandchildren. City council members should ask themselves how they would respond to a grieving parent or family when they are asked why they so callously approved this policy.

For years, Kobach has sought to ban sanctuary cities in Kansas. One of Kobach’s opponents in the GOP primary  Senate, Susan Wagle — who has been Kansas Senate President since 2013 — previously blocked his 2017 effort to outlaw sanctuary cities in the state in 2017. The legislation passed out of committee with majority support, but Wagle failed to ever bring the bill to a vote.

Full Disclosure: Kris Kobach writes a weekly column for Breitbart News. 

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.

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