News & Commentary

The ACLU of Kansas responded to the court ruling and a statement can be found below: This is a disappointing denial of the rights of those most impacted by the current administration’s cruel crusade against students in Kansas to participate in a lawsuit that will directly impact their future. The court has allowed the Department of Justice, in collusion with Attorney General Kobach, to slam the door on hardworking Kansas students, even though Kansans have long supported providing all children in our state the opportunity to learn. Jessica Swonger, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Kansas

The ACLU of Kansas issued a statement against the decision: “This is a disappointing denial of the rights of those most impacted by the current administration’s cruel crusade against students in Kansas to participate in a lawsuit that will directly impact their future.”

Jessica Swonger, staff attorney with the ACLU of Kansas, said the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the ACLU of Kansas filed a motion in July to intervene on behalf of students impacted by U.S. v. Kansas. “This is a disappointing denial of the rights of those most impacted by the current administration’s cruel crusade against students in Kansas to participate in a lawsuit that will directly impact their future,” Swonger said. “The court has allowed the Department of Justice, in collusion with Attorney General Kobach, to slam the door on hardworking Kansas students, even though Kansans have long supported providing all children in our state the opportunity to learn.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas on the same day put out a call to action, encouraging supporters to send a message to the governor, urging her to commute all remaining death sentences. In 2024, the ACLU tried to abolish the death penalty in Kansas through litigation. Commuting Kansas death sentences helps “confront the criminal justice system’s deep failures and stop further injustice,” the organization said.

According to the ACLU of Kansas, this extends to restrooms and locker rooms, with an additional provision that prohibits trans people from updating their driver’s licenses and state IDs to reflect their gender.

The ACLU of Kansas and partner groups sued Dodge City, in majority-minority Ford County, arguing its citywide elections diluted the votes of the city's Latino majority.

Federal ICE agents have already invoked the state law multiple times in Olathe this summer — adding it to city code would let violations be prosecuted in municipal court too.

The American Civil Liberties Union now devotes half its time nationally to detention and immigration issues, said Micah Kubic, executive director of the Kansas ACLU. They monitor and sometimes oppose proposed bills.

On Feb. 25, Siobhan Kirchstein received an official letter from the Kansas Division of Vehicles instructing her to surrender her driver’s license. She was one of hundreds of Kansans who received such letters when Senate Bill 244, a hastily passed piece of legislation, invalidated driver’s licenses on which the gender marker did not match the holder’s sex as assigned at birth.