MANHATTAN — A letter from a U.S. attorney has raised concerns about the behavior of a Manhattan municipal judge following an incident involving ICE agents in her courtroom — and it came with a warning for the city of Manhattan.
Ryan Kriegshauser, U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas, sent a letter Dec. 18 to the Manhattan city manager and city commissioners after Judge Sarah Barr addressed two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents who were attending proceedings in her municipal courtroom Dec. 4 to arrest a woman appearing for charges of driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.
Kriegshauser said in the letter that Barr stopped in the middle of her opening remarks, looked at the ICE agents and said she thought they should not be there.
The Mercury obtained the letter, which is a public record by state law.
Manhattan City Manager Danielle Dulin on Monday confirmed she was “in receipt of a letter from the Department of Justice,” and said the concerns within would be addressed. She declined further comment.
Barr declined to comment.
The municipal court said there is no record of what was said during the proceeding. The Mercury also obtained the court docket from that day, which includes 53 people. It does not list a woman charged with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident. Neither the court nor the U.S. attorney’s office would give the woman’s name.
ACCORDING TO the letter, after the hearing, the agents followed the woman in question out of the courtroom and arrested her in the hallway. Kriegshauser said Barr “announced” to the 20 to 25 people in attendance the men were ICE agents after they left the courtroom.
Kriegshauser said Barr improperly and unnecessarily injected political overtones into her proceedings and added her remarks were “inappropriate and potentially dangerous.” He said Barr’s comments suggest ICE agents had no business attending municipal court hearings, which are open to the public.
“Make no mistake, my office will take all necessary steps to enforce federal law as needed,” Kriegshauser said. “ICE agents may exercise their discretion to attend public court hearings in connection with making lawful arrests of illegal aliens.”
Kriegshauser referred in his letter to the U.S. Constitution and Immigration and Nationality Act, saying the executive branch has, “’broad, undoubted power’ to arrest and detain illegal aliens to effectuate their removal.”
The letter also references memoranda from the acting director of ICE, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Attorney General as well as action from President Donald Trump on national security all regarding immigration enforcement.
Kriegshauser, the chief federal law enforcement officer in Kansas, was nominated for the role by Trump. His nomination was confirmed Dec. 19. He served as Interim U.S. Attorney since July 28.
Kriegshauser said his office is now investigating the Manhattan city government to determine whether it constitutes a “sanctuary jurisdiction.”
“If you have policies or information that could assist us in our examination or otherwise demonstrate that the City of Manhattan does not obstruct federal immigration efforts, feel free to share such policies or information with my office,” he said. “In the meantime, I urge you to strongly encourage employees of the city of Manhattan, Kansas, not to disparage, or in any way interfere with, federal law enforcement officers lawfully enforcing federal immigration law.”
