Dozens of Kansas officials have sent President Barack Obama a letter to protest the possible transfer of Guantanamo Bay detainees to a prison at Fort Leavenworth.
The letter, sent Monday, is signed by more than 60 elected officials, including Rep. Mike Pompeo, Gov. Sam Brownback, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, and Leavenworth Mayor Lisa Weakley.
The group writes that Obama’s plan to close Guantanamo and possibly move detainees to Leavenworth could “jeopardize our families, schools and downtown businesses, and make Leavenworth a target.” The letter also says Middle Eastern allies could stop sending officers to train at Forth Leavenworth if detainees are transferred there.
Several U.S. sites have been surveyed to house the remaining 112 terrorism suspects currently detained at Guantanamo. Fort Leavenworth has the only maximum security prison within the Department of Defense.
In August, Brownback and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley sent a joint letter to Obama formally denouncing plans to move detainees to their states. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and other top prosecutors from Colorado and South Carolina have also spoken out against the Obama administration’s plan.
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