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Sheriff warns Sedgwick County could face training, staffing and liability risks under bill requiring ICE-like duties
Summary
County staff relayed the sheriff's concerns about Senate Bill 178, saying local officers lack training and staffing for immigration-enforcement tasks and would not receive the federal immunities that protect federal agents, potentially exposing county taxpayers to liability.
County staff and Tom Stoltz summarized testimony from the sheriff's office about Senate Bill 178, which staff described as requiring local police and sheriff's departments to take on ICE-like duties. Staff said the sheriff's three primary concerns were insufficient training for such complex enforcement, inadequate staffing and vehicles to transport detainees (including out-of-state transfers), and the lack of federal immunity for local officers, which could expose the county to liability.
Tom said, "Their officers are not trained for that kind of duty," and noted the sheriff feared fiscal impacts on local taxpayers unless the state or federal government provided recompense. The sheriff will testify through the state sheriff's association and asked that the bill be reconciled to address training, staffing and liability before local agencies are required to comply.
