After ICE raids, southwest Kansans swung to a Democrat.
asserted
Kansans → swing → Democrat
Now they want accountability
asserted
they → want → accountability
Early last month, in a starkly lit meeting room in southwest Kansas, Amy Soberanes stood to address members of the Dodge City commission.
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Soberanes → light → commission
It had been two weeks since US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on the city, and she and other community organizers peppered the commissioners with questions: What had they known?
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they → descend → What
Why had the area been targeted?
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area → target → ?
How would the city respond if it happened again?
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it → respond → ?
Federal immigration agents swept into this rural corner of Kansas in late September and detained 104 people, according to the local US Attorney.
uncertain
agents → sweep → Attorney
Hispanic communities in Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal – dominated by meatpacking plants staffed by a mostly immigrant workforce – were hardest hit.
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communities → dominate → workforce
“Our community is looking for reassurance and direction,” Soberanes, a 25-year-old Mexican American business owner, said to the five men on the dais.
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Soberanes → look → dais
But on November 3, Election Day, voters made themselves heard.
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themselves → make → November
Kansas elected a Democrat to the US Senate for the first time in nearly a century when Adam Hamilton ousted incumbent Republican Roger Marshall.
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Hamilton → elect → Marshall
The three counties most affected by the ICE raids swung toward Hamilton by more than 20 points on average from Republican President Donald Trump’s 2024 vote share, results compiled by Reuters and USA Today showed.
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results → affect → Reuters
The shift represented a striking backlash to Trump's immigration crackdown in one of the country's most conservative states.
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shift → represent → states
The raids disrupted economic activity in the so-called Golden Triangle of Beef and left local officials complaining that they had been kept in the dark.
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they → disrupt → dark
Trump, in the wake of his party’s midterm drubbing, has sent mixed signals on immigration policy.
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Trump → send → policy
He told "60 Minutes" that his deportation campaign may have been "too tough."
uncertain
campaign → tell → Minutes
He then promoted Stephen Miller, architect of Trump's immigration strategy, to be his next chief of staff.
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He → promote → staff
Asked for comment on this story, ICE's parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement: "We will continue to enforce our nation’s laws and remove illegal aliens from American communities."
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We → ask → communities
Lauren Bis, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement that Trump’s “commonsense immigration agenda has delivered the most secure border in history.”
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agenda → say → history
OFFICIALS IN THE DARK
Dodge City gained national prominence in the 1800s as a stop for pioneers heading to the American West.
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City → gain → West
Cattle feedlots eventually sprouted up in the open plains.
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feedlots → sprout → plains
In the 1980s, meatpacking companies began building massive plants – first employing Vietnamese and Laotian refugees and, later, migrants from Mexico and Central America.
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companies → begin → Mexico
Dodge City is now 67% Hispanic, according to the US Census.
uncertain
City → accord → Census
Carlos Rivera was working at the National Beef packing plant on September 22 when he heard from truck drivers that ICE agents had been spotted around town.
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agents → work → town
During the next shift change, some departing employees were detained by agents waiting on the street outside the plant, Rivera said.
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Rivera → depart → plant
As news spread, others fled back inside.
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others → spread → ?
Many spent hours in the cafeteria until the agents left.
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agents → spend → cafeteria
Company switchboards were tied up over the following days with workers calling out, Rivera said.
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Rivera → tie → days
Regional cattle and livestock groups reported workforce disruptions at feedyards, dairies and meat processors, resulting in millions of dollars lost.
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groups → report → dollars
City Commissioner Rick Sowers was on an early-morning walk when he noticed flashing lights on multiple vehicles outside a neighbor’s house and masked agents banging on the doors.
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agents → notice → doors
“I just don’t perceive that as an appropriate measure for a document case,” Sowers told Reuters, referring to immigration documents.
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Sowers → perceive → documents
The lack of communication from the federal government had put him in a difficult position, he told people at the October 5 commission meeting.
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he → put → meeting
DHS said in its statement to Reuters that ICE "advised cooperative local agencies" ahead of its operation in southwest Kansas but did not specify which agencies.
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ICE → say → Kansas
But as angry residents criticized officials for not making a public statement about the sweeps sooner, Nick Hernandez, the first Hispanic city manager of Dodge City, said city officials learned about the operation from social media.
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officials → criticize → media
They began calling state and federal legislators for information.
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They → begin → information
Forty-eight hours later, Republican US Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall of Kansas passed along information from DHS that the agents were leaving.
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agents → pass → DHS
“Never during the operation did we find out who was actually in charge,” Hernandez told the meeting.
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Hernandez → find → meeting
Even Marshall, long a supporter of Trump’s immigration policies, blasted the raids, saying in a statement that police "were not given advance notice or the level of cooperation we would expect,” causing “mass disruptions to local communities and businesses."
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we → blast → communities
Hamilton, his opponent, called the raids a “disaster” and said Kansans were “fed up” with Marshall being a “mouthpiece for the president.”
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Marshall → call → president
He will be the first Democratic senator to represent the state since 1932 when he takes office in January.
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he → represent → January
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
