Why Mayor Quinton Lucas says Kansas City doesn't need a sanctuary city resolution

It’s dead.

Prompting its introduction were Lucas’ remarks on social media and in a Bloomberg.com news article last week. He said Kansas City would welcome migrants with legal work permits who have crowded into cities like New York and Denver, where tens of thousands of people from Central America have gotten federal permission to seek work in this country after applying for asylum at the southern border.

“All are welcome in Kansas City,” Lucas said last Tuesday on X, formerly Twitter, while sharing the Bloomberg article that quoted him saying the Kansas City area could use more workers for its growing economy.

“Proud to work with my fellow mayors like @MikeJohnstonCO and @NYCMayor,” his post said, referring to Denver’s mayor and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, “as we work to ensure decompression of new arriving communities and collaboration among cities, labor, non-profits, and federal officials.”

Later in the week, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey either misinterpreted or – as Lucas suggested – deliberately distorted the mayor’s remarks, calling them “wildly irresponsible” and noted that it is a felony to transport people into Missouri, if they are in the country illegally. Lucas had suggested that Kansas City would assist migrants with legal authorization to work.

“Make no mistake, my office will do everything in its power to take legal action against any person or entity found to be in violation of these statutes,” Bailey wrote in a letter addressed to Lucas.

Other GOP office holders, including the presiding commissioners of Clay and Platte counties, joined their fellow Republican in denouncing Lucas, a Democrat.

Willett, also a conservative, introduced the resolution affirming that Kansas City does not believe city resources should be used to encourage illegal immigration, or “bail out” other municipalities, counties or states who have ‘sanctuary city’ policies, or take steps that would violate a state law that denies grant money to cities that adopt sanctuary policies.

Attached to the resolution was testimony supporting it from three dozen people.

But Lucas and Bough said it was unnecessary to pass what Lucas described as a “messaging resolution” to tell the legislature that the city would continue to follow the law when no one in city government had suggested that Kansas City would violate it.

Moreover, Lucas said, the city does not have the power to instruct local police to ignore immigration laws, as the Kansas City Police Department is controlled by the state and overseen by a board appointed by Missouri’s Republican governor.

“In so many words, we can’t actually be a sanctuary city, unless the governor’s police board appointees were to declare it tomorrow,” Lucas said.

Bough stressed another reason for killing Willett’s resolution. Passing it would send a negative message to the many immigrants who live here and contribute to Kansas City’s diversity.

“We run the risk of alienating those who we have welcomed to this community, and we continue to welcome to this community. And that is what I don’t want to do,” she said.

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