In a move that further signals her move to the political center, Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill banning “sanctuary cities” that came in response to an ordinance passed by the Unified Government in Wyandotte County.
Kelly signed the bill that was first called for by Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the GOP’s presumptive candidate for governor this year.
She signed the bill the same day the Kansas Republican Party sent out an email – under the heading “Gov. Laura Kelly has completely failed Jayhawkers” – criticizing the governor for refusing to address sanctuary cities.
Schmidt called for the bill earlier in the year after Wyandotte County’s Unified Government passed an ordinance giving undocumented immigrants the chance to get a municipal photo ID and prohibited local law enforcement from working with federal immigration authorities.
“The responsibility to address our broken immigration system rests with Congress and cannot be resolved at the municipal level,” Kelly said in a statement.
“Both Republicans and Democrats in Washington have failed to address immigration issues for decades. We need a national solution and we need it now,” the governor said.
Kelly asked the Legislature to send her a bill that would allow Kansans who depend on local government IDs to vote.
“The Legislature needs to send me a trailer bill that ensures these folks can continue participating in our democracy,” she said.
The bill makes it illegal for any city to pass a law that would in any way keep a law enforcement officer from cooperating with federal authorities to collect and exchange information about immigration status.
The bill also prohibits a municipality from limiting or restricting enforcement of federal immigration laws.
It also would bar a municipal ID from being used to comply with state law for proof of identity. It would require each municipal ID to state, “Not valid for state ID.”
The Senate passed the bill 29-10. It passed the House 84-38. The legislation was overwhelmingly opposed by lawmakers from her own party.
The bill was introduced about two weeks after Wyandotte County’s Unified Government decided to pass an ordinance — known as the Safe and Welcoming ordinance — that gives undocumented immigrants and others the opportunity to get a photo municipal ID so they can access government services.
Schmidt issued a statement after Kelly signed the bill without mentioning the governor.
“The veto-proof bipartisan support for this bill in the Legislature demonstrated its importance, as the Biden administration continues its tragic failure to secure our southern border, jeopardizing public safety in our Kansas communities,” Schmidt said in a statement.
“Under this new law, Kansas law enforcement will be able to resume working professionally with federal immigration authorities as the needs of public safety require and not be silenced by a patchwork of local ‘sanctuary city’ gag orders,” he said.
Kansas Republican Party Chairman Mike Kuckelman said Kelly knew the Legislature would override her if she decided to put up a fight and defend the county’s ordinance.
“She had an election coming up and she has to do what people in Kansas want, which is really the ideology of the Republican Party,” he said.
“I have no doubt that she will go right back to her old ways after the election if she gets reelected,” Kuckelman said.
“She is doing things like this merely because she has an election coming up. It’s not because her ideology is changing,” he said.
Democratic state Sen. David Haley of Kansas City summed it up this way.
“Obviously election year politics cause people of often good will and moderation to polarize themselves,” Haley said.
He noted that Schmidt, who he described as “moderate” and “even thinking,” move to the “far right” of the political spectrum.
Haley said was surprised to see the governor reverse course from her customary support of local control, something she expressed when she vetoed a bill barring local governments from banning plastic bags.
“I would have thought that the governor would have looked at the beauty of local control,” Haley said. “If she had stayed with her roots…not wanting to give fodder to a knee-jerk constituency that would respond to sound bites.”
Haley suggested the governor could have let the bill become law without her signature, but added that she would have faced criticized from conservative Republican for being soft on illegal immigration.
“I don’t think it’s going to cost her any votes,” Haley said. “I think most people understand what’s going on and the shenanigans of election years.”
Haley said the county commission was split on the ordinance, explaining just how controversial the issue was even within local government.
The America Civil Liberties Union of Kansas issued a blunt statement in response to the governor’s signing of the bill.
“Disappointment doesn’t quite cover how we feel about the news that Gov. Kelly signed HB2717, a bill that contributes to an environment of fear, harassment, and intimidation for immigrants living in Kansas,” the ACLU said in a statement.
“The bill signed by Gov. Kelly will hurt real people in real danger, in real time. It does real damage to our state. For immigrants and, indeed, for every Kansan, the bill sends a clear signal – that this state wants to be unsafe and hostile,” the ACLU said.
“Gov. Kelly could have shoved this bill in a desk drawer. Instead, she signed a bill that shoves people fleeing violence and persecution into harm’s way.”
The governor’s decision to sign the “sanctuary cities” bill is one more indication of how the governor is trying to move to the political center with a tough reelection fight ahead.
Just recently, Kelly’s gubernatorial campaign released an ad featuring her with former President Donald Trump.
Last year, she signed a bill opposed by members of her own party that broadened religious exemptions for workers who refused to comply with the federal vaccine mandates that are now hung up in court.
Her administration also opposed new federal protections for the lesser prairie chicken and last year signed a school finance bill expanding school choice.
The governor’s administration also urged the federal government to take a cautious approach with an ambitious and controversial plan to conserve 30% of U.S. land and water by 2030.
Because of speculation about what the 30 by 30 might be and whether it could become some kind of “land grab,” the administration advised the Fish and Wildlife Service to clearly say what it’s not to allay concerns about the plan.
