TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced Monday that 10 non-citizens with prior criminal convictions have been taken into federal custody following targeted enforcement operations in Hutchinson, Newton, Garden City and Dodge City in recent weeks.
The arrests, conducted between Oct. 24 and Nov. 14, were carried out by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation in partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to Kobach, the individuals detained were identified through the state’s new authority under the federal 287(g) program, which allows trained KBI personnel to perform certain immigration enforcement actions under ICE supervision.
“Had my office not obtained 287(g) authority and investigated these cases, these dangerous illegal aliens would have continued to live in Kansas communities hiding in plain sight,” Kobach said.
The detainees — citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba, Somalia, and Ethiopia — had previously been convicted of a range of offenses including second-degree murder, sex crimes involving minors, aggravated battery, drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and firearm-related crimes…