By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
No paid agitators could be found outside the Barton County Courthouse Saturday morning, but a small group of local residents gathered at Lakin and Main for an anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) protest, organized by Women for Kansas.
“We know what happens when you give people who are poorly trained no boundaries,” said Pam Martin. “And you give them guns. And you let them mask. And you don’t listen to the Constitution. We know how that goes. ICE is just terrible right now. It wasn’t until this happened. They had boundaries, but now they’re targeting anyone who is not white. It’s just pure racism is what it is.”
Several hundred immigration-related protests were held around the country in 2025. In January 2026, largely because of the pair of fatal shootings in Minneapolis, several hundred more rallies were reported nationwide in January.
“They’ve already killed two people who were protesting, using their Constitutional rights,” Martin said. “We want them to be the last two people killed over this.”
Various reports indicate 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025, more people than in the previous 20 years combined. Several house members on the Committee of Homeland Security recently sent DHS Secretary Kristi Noem a letter citing 53 deaths of people in ICE or Customs and Border Protection custody since she took the role as secretary.
Last September, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to lift a temporary restraining order, which allowed ICE to conduct “roving patrols” in California. Stephanie Pfannenstiel said that was one reason she attended Saturday’s protest in Great Bend.
“The United States Supreme Court overturned a ruling out of California,” she said. “The end result of that is the Supreme Court has ruled it is okay to detain people based on race, language spoken, or the type of employment you do.”
Pfannenstiel also expressed concern about hundreds of alleged court-order violations by ICE agents, and the potential arrest and detainment of immigrants attempting to attend hearings to retain their protected legal status.
“I’m also concerned about talk from the executive branch about using ICE as security for elections being present at polling places in 2026,” said Pfannenstiel.
Last week, Steve Bannon, a former advisor to President Trump, said, ‘You’re damn right we’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November.’ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she has not heard the president consider the option but also did not rule it out.