Kansas police secretly recorded meeting on new law that prompted fear among immigrants

As Latino and immigrant communities across Kansas worried about the implementation of a new law criminalizing human smuggling, the Dodge City Police Department sent an undercover police officer to monitor an information session.

The officer, who attended a June meeting organized by the Kansas Hispanic and Latin American Affairs Commission in plain clothes and kept his body camera in his pocket to record audio, submitted a report on the contents of the meeting to Chief Drew Francis, who then forwarded the report to Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach.

The human smuggling law has prompted widespread fears it could put undocumented immigrants at risk of additional legal scrutiny.

In his email to Kobach, Francis said he feared the informational session, which his officer reported largely focused on uncertainties about the law and how it interacted with constitutional rights, could sow distrust between the public and police.

“I believe this is a direct assault on the police and public unity, and partnership. One that only serves to advance the insinuation and protection of the human traffickers and smugglers exploiting the very community these advocacy groups claim to advocate for the protection of,” Francis said in an email obtained by The Star through an open records request.

In a statement to The Star, Carla Rivas-D’Amico said she did not have any direct interaction with the Dodge City Police or Kobach before or after the meeting and invited them to engage with the organization.

“Frankly, by not participating or making themselves known, it just underscores why these public discussions are so important,” D’Amico said.

The email was among hundreds of emails sent to Kobach’s personal email address, which he has used for professional purposes since taking office in January. The emails were first reported on by the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Kansas law requires public officials’ private emails to be open records when they pertain to official business. Kobach followed the law by turning over his correspondence.

Within an hour of Francis’ email to Kobach, Laura Francis, a program coordinator for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center based in Dodge City, emailed Kobach fliers for the info sessions and thanked him for “tackling this and helping Kansas be more safe!”

The Dodge City emails offer a window into the mind frame of law enforcement as Kansas’ law criminalizing human smuggling took effect. In a statement Kobach’s Chief of Staff said the attorney general did not direct any law enforcement to attend meetings on the law or issue any guidance regarding it’s enforcement.

Though the law was aimed at preventing exploitation and trafficking, it prompted concerns that law enforcement, in the process of prosecuting those accused of human smuggling, would trample upon the due process rights of undocumented immigrants or that anyone assisting or transporting an undocumented individual could be accused of smuggling.

The Hispanic and Latin American Affairs Commission held informational sessions across the state in June to inform Kansans about the possible impacts of the law, which took effect July 1. D’Amico said these sessions reduced the level of panic and confusion about the law.

The officer’s report on the Dodge City meeting walked through presentations from D’Amico and one other member of the Kansas Hispanic and Latin American Affairs Commission that highlighted the vague nature of the law and reminded attendees to exercise their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights when interacting with law enforcement.

The officer suggested that D’Amico was lobbying for Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and said he was concerned by her comments encouraging undocumented Kansans to engage in politics and volunteer in their local election offices.

“I felt this implied an illegal alien could become involved in election tampering,” the officer, identified as J. Soto, said.

D’Amico said Soto’s account included “gross mischaracterizations” of the meeting and that no one at the meeting suggested undocumented individuals could engage in election tampering.

“We support law enforcement and the important role that they play in keeping the public safe. We also believe in making sure Kansans are informed about important issues happening in Topeka,” she said.

In his email to Kobach, Francis said he sent an officer to the informational setting to protect community relations and trust.

“I made the decision to direct a plainclothes detective to attend the meeting because I felt a uniformed police officer would be perceived as disruptive or intimidating to the audience members or presenters,” Francis said in a statement to The Star. He added that he didn’t want the officer to be asked to speak on behalf of the department.

Francis said he had not spoken with Kobach about the law prior to sending the report and has not spoken to the office since.

He told The Star he forwarded the report because he believed the AG’s office could dispel some of the concern.

“It seemed a large part of the uncertainty surrounding the bill stemmed from a lack of direction from the Attorney General’s office regarding how the bill should be enforced,” Francis said. “After reading the report, I wanted to communicate to the Attorney General that uncertainty surrounding the law was causing fear in the Hispanic community throughout the State, including in Dodge City, and an opinion from him would be greatly appreciated.”

Kobach testified in support of the policy when lawmakers considered it but warned lawmakers that, without an amendment, the bill would be vulnerable to lawsuits arguing it was preempted by federal law, which handles immigration.

Kobach recommended changes to language that lawmakers ultimately did not add to the bill.