What are my rights if I encounter an ICE agent in Kansas? We spoke to an expert
As President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown continues, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity has picked up across Kansas.
In Leavenworth, a suburb of Kansas City about three hours from Wichita, the city commission voted earlier this month to allow a private prison to open as an ICE detention center, leading to community protests.
In Lawrence, ICE agents detained people on the University of Kansas campus, as well as other areas of the city in February, local immigration advocates have said.
Regardless of immigration status, all individuals have rights when approached by an ICE agent or other member of law enforcement. We spoke with Rekha Sharma-Crawford, an immigration attorney at Kansas City-based Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at Law, and asked her what to know if approached by an ICE officer.
Here’s your guide to knowing your rights.
What do I do if ICE knocks on my Kansas door?
Sharma-Crawford said ICE agents do not have the right to enter a home without the consent of occupants or a valid, signed judicial warrant.
“Part of the problem is that ICE keeps thinking that they can go into people’s homes without a judicial warrant, and that’s just not accurate,” she said. “Nothing in their administrative warrant allows them to enter people’s homes or even the curtilage of their property … absent a judicial warrant, and that is one signed by a judge.”
If ICE agents tell you they have a warrant, you are within your rights to ask to see it.
In some cases, while they may present a paper to the property owner, that doesn’t mean it is a judicial warrant. An administrative warrant is not the same, Sharma-Crawford said, and knowing how to tell the difference between them is key.
“Look for the judge’s signature. If it says an ICE officer signed it, that’s not a warrant, right? If it says ERO, which is Enforcement and Removal Operations, that’s not a judge,” she said. “Anything that has that nomenclature that says this is an actual judge, that’s one thing, but everything else is just an administrative warrant.”
If the document indicates it was signed by an immigration judge, that’s not the same as a warrant either, Sharma-Crawford noted.
“An immigration judge is an administrative hearing officer,” she said. “They don’t have the same constitutional powers or state powers that a sitting judge has.”
If presented with a warrant, you should also be clear what kind of warrant it is.
“Is the warrant for an arrest, or is it a search warrant?” Sharma-Crawford asked.
The National Immigrant Justice Center recommends those encountering immigration officials to not open the door. Instead, the center recommends all immigrants having emergency contacts memorized and make provisions if you have children or dependents.
What are my rights if approached by ICE in public?
Sharma-Crawford said if approached by an ICE agent, you always have the right to request a lawyer.
“If you have family and friends around, you’re well within your rights to say, ‘start recording,’” she said.
Sharma-Crawford also advises individuals not engage immigration officials.
“Step back, don’t touch them, because if you even slightly brush up against them, they’re going to claim that … it was a battery,” she said.
The NIJC’s website urges the public not to interfere in an investigation or put themselves in harm’s way.
“If you are a U.S. citizen and feel safe to do so, record the activity with your phone or write down any relevant information about what you witness – ALWAYS being careful to not interfere or otherwise obstruct the operation,” the website reads.
ICE agents have the right to know who the person they’re speaking to is, Sharma-Crawford said.
“Identified ICE agents have a right to know who you are,” she confirmed. “If you say, ‘I’m not telling you my name,’ they’re going to take you into custody because they don’t know who you are.
“When people say, ‘Don’t give them your address, don’t tell them who you are,’ I think the problem there is that you are inviting an arrest,” she continued. “Beyond that, if the individual asks you, ‘Where are you from?’ You don’t have to answer that. You don’t have to answer that if you’re a citizen, you don’t have to answer that if you’re a noncitizen ... Now, under the current policies and procedures and political climate … Are you risking yourself for detention? Yes, but there are strategic reasons to not divulge too much information.”
If pulled over, the NIJC recommends you ask the officer to identify what agency they’re from. They may say “police” even if they’re an ICE agent. You can ask if they are with ICE or Customs and Border Protection, although Sharma-Crawford said in Kansas, you’re unlikely to encounter border patrol.
In all cases, anyone who is being questioned or arrested by an ICE agent has the right to remain silent, the NIJC says.
How to spot false information
In the age of artificial intelligence and social media, it is hard to know what posts are accurate or false.
Sharma-Crawford recommends getting news and information from a variety of news sources and not just depending on one.
“With the involvement of AI now, it’s become so much harder to know what’s true and what’s not, and find credible news sources and double check new sources,” she said. “Don’t just go to one news site and say … ‘This is what’s happening in the world.’ I think you have to do your due diligence, and that may require you to do a cross-section of local news, international news (and) social media posts.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
