ICE officers seen detaining one person on KU campus Friday morning

kansan.com · By Michael Glenn | michael.glenn@ku.edu & Emilee Kern | emileekern@ku.edu · 2026-02-27T12:11:00-06:00

Immigrant rights organization Sanctuary Alliance Lawrence confirmed the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on the University of Kansas campus Friday morning.Officers were spotted near Naismith Hall and the Ambler Student Recreation Center parking lots at 18th Street and Arkansas Street. Witnesses submitted photos of officers wearing masks and green “ICE” vests. Sanctuary Alliance confirmed the reports and said the officers detained one individual after they pulled over into a parking lot from 19th Street around 7:40 a.m. Sanctuary Alliance acts as an information source for ICE sightings around Lawrence. “We ask the community to remain alert,” Sanctuary Alliance said in a social media post Friday.ICE agents were also seen Friday morning in the parking lot near Dick’s Sporting Goods at 27th Street and Iowa Street. Sanctuary Alliance said one individual was detained by two agents in a black SUV and truck.Grace Gutierrez, a KU student, said she saw ICE officers in the parking lot this morning around 7:45. Gutierrez said she saw at least three officers, but it is possible that there were more in their vehicles.Gutierrez said the ICE agents had multiple vehicles around the entrance of the parking lot, and that it was difficult to identify the number of officers present.Gutierrez also said she watched agents remove an individual from their vehicle and then pin the person's hands behind their back. Gutierrez also said there was a passenger in the vehicle, who was also removed. She said it was unclear if the passenger was also involved in the situation.She said one of the agents then got into the detained person’s vehicle and moved it into a parking spot in lot 90.Gutierrez said she was “very shaken” by the event. While it is unclear if the detained individual was a KU student, Gutierrez said it is “so disheartening to think that someone can be in the car on their way to their 8 a.m. class and experience this treatment on their own campus.”Sanctuary Alliance said witnesses who see ICE should call or text the immigrant rights hotline at 785-813-1098 or 785-289-5143. Witnesses should note the size and strength of the officers, action and activities, location and direction, uniform or clothes, time and date information and what equipment or weapons they are carrying.The KU Police Department said it is aware of reports regarding the presence of federal immigration officers on the Lawrence campus this morning. Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations for KU, said KU Public Safety is working to gather and confirm additional information on the matter. She said currently, KUPD has no confirmed details about the nature of the activity or whether it involved any KU employees or students. Barcomb-Peterson also said KUPD understands these reports are unsettling to the KU community and that the department's priority is the well-being of the campus community.The Lawrence Police Department issued a statement Friday that its leaders are aware of social media reports about possible immigration agents on KU's campus and in the city. The statement said the Department of Homeland Security has not contacted LKPD about immigration enforcement, nor has LKPD provided any assistance to ICE.It also said that immigration law is not a function of the department and that it requires public notification if officers are asked to assist in any civil immigration enforcement operations. LKPD ended the statement by saying that KU's campus is under the jurisdiction of KUPD and that campus inquiries should be directed to campus police.ICE was previously spotted detaining individuals in Lawrence on Feb. 17.