13 June 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A new law against human smuggling takes effect on July 1 in Kansas. Many undocumented residents are worried the law will target them, getting them arrested and sent out of the country.
But the police chief of the state’s largest city and the sheriff of the second-largest county say that will not happen.
On Tuesday, Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan and Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter held a news conference to clear up the growing concerns in the Hispanic community.
“The important thing here, when it comes to members of the undocumented community, they have nothing to fear here in the City of Wichita,” Chief Sullivan said.
New Kansas smuggling law
The law is from House Bill 2350. It defines the crime of human smuggling as intentionally transporting, harboring, or concealing an individual into or within Kansas when the person:
Knows, or should have known, that the individual is entering into or remaining in the United States illegally;
Benefits financially or receives anything of value; and
Knows, or should have known, that the individual being smuggled is likely to be exploited for the financial gain of another.
Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the bill, saying it would have unintended consequences. But the Republicans in the Kansas House and Senate overrode her veto, and the bill became law.
“This is a way that we can stand here and ensure … members of our community are not exploited for financial gain,” said Rep. Stephen Owens, a Republican from Hesston, who carried the bill in the House.
Confusing language
The Wichita Police Department (WPD) and the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said misinformation about the law has been circulating in the community. The police chief and the sheriff both say the bill’s wording may be unclear to some.
“The wording is definitely very broad and will probably be something that has to be looked at when the legislature comes back,” Chief Sullivan said. “We’ve gotten very good direction from (District Attorney) Marc Bennett, and any type of case involving this charge, we would have to present to Marc or his staff.”
“Is there some broad context to this particular bill that could be confusing? Yes, there is,” Sheriff Easter said. “The fact of the matter is that we have to prove elements of a crime, and we will see what that looks like once the law goes into effect July 1 and if we have any cases that fit this criteria and we present those kind of cases, what that looks like or if there needs to be some cleanup on this bill next legislative session.”
What will happen on July 1?
“I don’t think anything’s going to change. Absolutely nothing,” Chief Sullivan said. “We just might have an extra tool for prosecution if we do come up with a case that meets that three-pronged test, and I think that’s a good thing.”
The police chief and the sheriff said they have spoken with the district attorney and received good direction on handling the law.
Wichita Police Department
Chief Sullivan said the law is not for targeting undocumented residents.
“The definition that we’ll be using is: If someone is benefiting financially from the exploitation of another, in other words, if you were transporting undocumented citizens for the purposes of prostitution or some other type of crime or forced labor, we would enforce the law against the person that was doing the exploitation,” he said.
The chief said the law is not about punishing people and charities who help undocumented workers.
“Simply being given gas money for transporting someone to work, giving somebody dinner or a place to stay at night, absolutely, positively not,” Chief Sullivan said. “There’s no reason to have any concerns that this law will be utilized in that way in the City of Wichita. I can guarantee that.”
He clarified how the WPD will use the new law.
“The Wichita Police Department will only intervene when elements of a crime of human smuggling are present or when a citizen reports a crime involving human smuggling,” he said. “Furthermore, I want to reiterate policy 514 of the Wichita Police Department explicitly states that officers will not initiate any action based solely on an individual’s immigration status.”
Chief Sullivan said officers will not ask for identification or documents to establish a person’s immigration status unless there is evidence some other crime has been committed.
He said the WPD aims to ensure that its actions “are never solely driven by immigration status” but that “all of our actions are centered on addressing criminal activity and maintaining public safety for all.”
“This approach will help foster trust within our community and ensure that our law enforcement efforts are targeted towards addressing significant criminal activity while always respecting the rights and dignity of all individuals within our community,” Chief Sullivan said.
Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office
The sheriff agreed with the police chief.
“We will take a look if any reports come to us from victims stating that they’ve been illegally smuggled or have been smuggled into this country for some type of profit for the person that is smuggling them in. That’s the intent of the bill,” Sheriff Easter said.
He said the new law fills a gap in existing law. The sheriff pointed to sex trafficking and kidnapping laws that don’t cover some of the crimes they see.
“We’ve had in this community where we’ve had Chinese nationals … They were brought here, undocumented, and they were put into the sex trade, or they were put into the massage parlor trade as payoff for them being able to come here. That’s not kidnapping, and so that’s the problem,” Sheriff Easter said.
He also explained why the sex trafficking laws are complicated.
“We’ve talked about, for years in this community, about the sex trafficking that takes place — of kids being taken from this community and being sex trafficked in other states and other states’ kids that are brought here. Those sex trafficking laws really apply to kids under 18, and so there’s a gap,” the sheriff said. “I think the intent of this law was to fill that gap for individuals that are being victimized that are coming here.”
Sheriff Easter said many victims of human smuggling and trafficking are reluctant to come forward because they are indebted to the people who brought them to the U.S.
He said it often goes unreported.
“Even with this bill in place, those victims are not going to be as forthcoming to law enforcement because of the fear of the retribution that can be brought upon them or their family,” the sheriff said.
He said the Sheriff’s Office will not target immigrants.
“It’s been our general practice, even before I became sheriff, that we don’t get involved in immigration issues,” Sheriff Easter said. “That is not something we’re tasked to do or even able to do as law enforcement in the State of Kansas.”
Community response
A member of the Kansas Hispanic and Latino American Affairs Commission said she has heard the concerns of undocumented residents. Commissioner Yeni Silva-Renteria said she works with many families with mixed status.
“This bill definitely brought a lot of fear and questions about just their safety and communication and collaboration with law enforcement,” she said.
She appreciates the police chief and the sheriff for trying to clear the air.
“We will continue to advocate to unite the community and make sure the collaboration and communication with law enforcement continues because we don’t want people to feel fear when reporting crime,” Silva-Renteria said.
Sheriff Easter agreed.
“We’ve worked with the Hispanic community for years to build that trust, and the fact of the matter is that the trust should still be there with the Hispanic community with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and with the Wichita Police Department,” he said.