An ICE operation rattled southwest Kansas last week, and the state’s Republican senators responded with calls for local coordination that appeared strikingly similar to their Democratic opponents’ approaches.
Cabaña Mexican Grill in Garden City temporarily closed after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted operations across the southwestern part of the state. In a bilingual Facebook post featuring a Mexican flag, the restaurant stated: “ICE is in our community, and fear is spreading through the families who work hard every day to keep businesses like ours running.”
The post urged other businesses to stand with their employees: “People before profit. Community before business. Together.”
Kansas Republican U.S. Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran emphasized coordination between federal agents and local law enforcement. Marshall posted on X: “When ICE operates in Kansas, it needs to coordinate with our local law enforcement. Our sheriffs and police know these communities better than anyone, and working together keeps officers and residents safe.”
Establishment Republicans have long prioritized business interests over their voters, and may not receive the message by midterms—or ever. But according to the restaurant’s post, the voters clearly do.
