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Sedgwick Co. Commission Approves Controversial Immigration Resolution

National WIC Association

The Sedgwick County Commission brought a controversial resolution back for a vote on Wednesday.

Once again, members of the public came out to speak against the resolution, but this time, there were a few people who thought it was a good idea.

The resolution asks the state to prevent undocumented immigrants from participating in the federally funded Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program, which provides education and nutrition services to low-income pregnant women and new mothers, and would bar students without legal documentation from in-state tuition at Kansas universities and colleges.

"This is not within our powers to fix this, but we are going to ask the state, formally, to take some positions," Commissioner Jim Howell said.

Commissioner Dave Unruh, along with Commissioner Tim Norton, voted against the resolution.

"This is just not a request for an opinion, we're asking for a change in the law and the procedure and the way we do things," Unruh said.

The resolution passed 3-2 and now goes to the state Legislature, asking it to amend the law about tuition, and to the governor, asking him to order the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to exclude "unqualified aliens" from WIC.

Read the full resolution here:

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Aileen LeBlanc is news director at KMUW. Follow her on Twitter @Aileen_LeBlanc.

 
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.