The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee held a hearing on Senate Concurrent Resolution 1602, which encourages the governor to fully cooperate with Federal enforcement of immigration laws.
Attorney General Kobach was the lead proponent expressing his desire for Kansas to support President Trump’s promise to deport undocumented immigrants. He testified taxpayers pay an average of $4,308 per undocumented immigrant and specifically that Kansas taxpayers were on the hook for additional education, policing and corrections, healthcare, and public assistance to the tune of $603.1 million in 2023.
In addition, Robert Stuart, with the Kansas Bureau of Investigations, also testified as a proponent, he indicated approximately 75,000 undocumented immigrants reside in Kansas, but that it’s hard to track specific numbers. He also indicated that there are undocumented immigrants coming from China. No other conferees testified on the resolution and the hearing was closed. There was no indication whether the committee will work the resolution.
