Month: February 2017

Kobach keeps immigration on state agenda

by Andy Marso, Kansas News Service

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is drafting bills to restrict illegal immigration in Kansas while he advises President Donald Trump on the same subject nationally.

Members of the Kansas House and Senate introduced two measures on Kobach’s behalf last week. One bars so-called “sanctuary cities” and the other would instruct the Kansas Highway Patrol to sign an agreement to help the federal Department of Homeland Security with immigration enforcement.

Both measures are conceptual at this point — meaning they’re still awaiting formal numbers and language from the Office of Revisor of Statutes, the Legislature’s team of bill-writers.

But Kobach testified last year in favor of an anti-sanctuary bill that would have nullified any local policies prohibiting Kansas law enforcement officers from gathering information about a person’s immigration status and communicating it to federal agencies. It died in committee amid objections from local officials who said asking them to enforce federal immigration law would be costly and possibly open them to lawsuits.

Kobach has said he is providing immigration policy advice to Trump, who signed an executive order to rescind federal funding for sanctuary cities. That order has since been challenged by San Francisco, which, like other cities, argues that such policies are necessary to reassure immigrants without legal status that they can report crimes without fearing deportation.

Kansas Highway Patrol officials said they weren’t consulted beforehand on the other bill and are waiting to see the official language before commenting.

Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Republican from Parker, introduced the bills in the Senate and Rep. John Whitmer, a Republican from Wichita, introduced them in the House. Both declined to discuss the bills with the media.

Andy Marso is a reporter for KCUR’s Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics in Kansas. You can reach him on Twitter @andymarso. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to kcur.org.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/kobach-keeps-immigration-state-agenda.

Attorney general to speak at Fairfax meeting

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is scheduled to speak at the Feb. 9 meeting of the Fairfax Industrial Association.

The luncheon meeting will be at 11:15 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, at the Board of Public Utilities offices, 540 Minnesota Ave., Kansas City, Kan.

Schmidt plans to speak about current consumer scams and the fraud and abuse division.

Tickets are $20 for FIA members and $25 for nonmembers. Reservations are due by 5 p.m. Feb. 7 to [email protected].

Slight chance of rain today

National Weather Service graphic

The National Weather Service says there is a chance of patchy drizzle between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. today, followed by a 20 percent chance of showers after 4 p.m.

Today’s high should be about 57, with a calm wind becoming south southeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon, according to the weather service.

Storms today are developing in an area that is largely south of the Kansas City area, with the possibility that a few storms could be strong or severe.

Wyandotte County seems to be on the edge of an area that will receive rain today. It also appears at this time that Wyandotte County will miss a snowfall to the north on Wednesday morning.

There is a 20 percent chance of showers before midnight tonight in Wyandotte County, according to the weather service. The low will be 43 with a southeast wind 6 to 8 mph becoming west after midnight.

Tuesday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 60, the weather service said. There will be a west wind of 7 to 10 mph becoming north northwest in the afternoon.

Tuesday night, it will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 28, according to the weather service, and a north northeast wind of 7 to 10 mph.

Wednesday, the high will be near 39 with partly sunny skies and a north northeast wind of 7 to 9 mph, the weather service said.

Wednesday night, it will be partly cloudy with a low of 21, according to the weather service.

Thursday, it will be mostly sunny with a high near 38, the weather service said.

Thursday night, the low will be around 34 with partly cloudy skies, according to the weather service.

Friday, the high will be near 61 with mostly sunny skies, the weather service said.

Friday night, the low will be around 45 with partly cloudy skies, according to the weather service.

Saturday, the high will be near 61 with partly sunny skies, the weather service said.
Saturday night, expect a 30 percent chance of rain with a low of 37, according to the weather service.

Sunday, the high will be near 47 with partly sunny skies, according to the weather service.