ICE Sweeps the Meatpacking Towns of Southwest Kansas Without Telling Local Police — Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal Say They Got No Warning, and Both of the State's Republican Senators Say ICE "Needs to Coordinate With Our Local Law Enforcement"
Beginning before dawn on Tuesday, September 23, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in unmarked vans set up on the roads around the big beef-packing plants in Liberal, Garden City and Dodge City, stopping vehicles and questioning passengers at shift change. The four plants employ more than 10,000 people in the region, many of them immigrants. National Beef in Liberal delayed shifts the next day, Dodge City Public Schools warned families that "we may have students whose family members have been detained," and county buildings were used as staging areas. The three cities issued a joint statement saying their governing bodies and police "were not notified in advance" and "do not have operational information regarding these federal enforcement activities." The Finney County sheriff said his office was "in no way assisting." Kansas's two Republican senators — Roger Marshall, who is on the ballot in November in a race that has tightened, and Jerry Moran — both responded by calling on ICE to work with local law enforcement, and both said they had been in contact with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. CNN noted that Marshall had previously praised ICE agents and defended their practices, and grouped the statements with other Republicans in competitive races who have begun distancing themselves from the administration's immigration enforcement.
“I am hearing from Kansans about the increased federal law enforcement presence in southwest Kansas as ICE agents carry out warrants in the area. … [Moran said he visited with Secretary Mullin to stress] the importance of DHS working with our local law enforcement to safely execute these warrants.”