Associated Press broke a story Friday morning, reporting that someone leaked an 11-page memo to them that called for the unprecedented militarization of immigration enforcement.
AP REPORT: Military could round up undocumented immigrants
But White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer tweeted almost immediately after the news broke that memo was "not a White House document" and that the AP report was "100 percent not true".
This is not true. DHS also confirms it is 100% false https://t.co/MFIJci7XaU
— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) February 17, 2017
Still area immigrants, here both legally and illegally, wonder how measures like this could wind up affecting them and their families.
That's why the Mexican Consulate in downtown Kansas City, Missouri launched its "Know Your Rights" campaign. The consulate said the number of clients coming through its door for immigration services has nearly quadrupled in recent weeks.
Tod@s tenemos derechos. Puedes guardar silencio si te interrogan autoridades, consultar abogado y que notifiquen a tu #consulado pic.twitter.com/xFHdYMp57V
— ConsulMex Kansas (@ConsulMexKan) February 8, 2017
"Our main role here is to make sure that authorities respect due process," explained Desirée Colomé-Menéndez with the Consul-Protection Dept. for the Consulate of Mexico in Kansas City, Missouri. "Whenever a Mexican national is facing a situation that requires and interaction with American authorities, we want to make sure that everything is according to law, rule of law, respect of constitutional rights and that they are entitled to their own attorney, to see a judge, to get a bond. We make sure the whole process is according to law."
41 Action News reached out to several groups and political leaders -- including Secretary of State Kris Kobach - -who've taken a stance against illegal immigration.
None were able or willing to comment.
But Kobach is backing two bills that would train Kansas Highway Patrol officers to help enforce federal immigration law and crack down on "sanctuary cities." Aside from helping curb illegal immigration, supporters say the bills could also limit the amount of human and drug trafficking on Kansas highways.
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