KANSAS CITY — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey authored a letter to Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas regarding his encouragement of illegal aliens into the state.
Bailey noted in the letter that the transport of illegal aliens was a Class D felony.
"We are a nation governed by the rule of law," Bailey wrote in his letter. "Yet, under the current Administration in Washington, D.C., laws that don’t align with a radically progressive agenda are simply ignored."
Bailey wrote that chief among these are the laws that prohibit illegal immigration into our country and into the state of Missouri.
"Tragically, these open border policies have real-world consequences," he wrote in the letter. "An illegal alien from Venezuela, who had repeatedly flouted U.S. immigration laws, was actually granted a work permit under a misguided and illegal policy enacted by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas."
The illegal alien brutally murdered a young college student in February named Laken Hope Riley.
Bailey pointed toward Lucas' April Facebook post in his letter, in which Lucas said he noted, "All are welcome in Kansas City."
"You later amended your statement to claim that your offer extends to 'persons who are lawfully present, with lawful work permits…' but this afterthought ignores the underlying issue,'" Bailey wrote in the letter. "Secretary Mayorkas’ open border programs are themselves illegal. Your statements are wildly irresponsible. Not only do you ignore the fact that Laken Riley’s killer had a so-called 'work permit,' but you are actively encouraging Missouri businesses to become entangled in a fundamentally unlawful program, and exposing them to legal liability in the process."
Sen. Denny Hoskins (R-Warrensburg) spoke out against Lucas' decision.
"We just saw Mayor Quinton Lucas from Kansas City,” Hoskins said in a statement. "He’s been saying that he’s been talking to the mayors in Denver as well as New York City to bring those illegal immigrants here to help with the workforce. We don’t want illegal aliens here in the state."
Lawmakers have targeted Kansas City in the state budget, posing budget cuts if the city becomes an illegal immigrant sanctuary city.
Lucas told KMBC News that Bailey and other elected officials were taking his words out of context and that he never meant that he would open Kansas City for those who are there illegally.
Lucas told the Kansas City Star that he was not going to make the city a sanctuary city.
"There is nothing that has been proposed that suggests we are a sanctuary city," Lucas told the Star. "There is nothing that has been proposed that suggests that this city is funding or in some conspiracy to help create more illegal immigration."
Bailey said in his letter to Lucas that he took an oath to enforce the law as written and that he had even joined with 19 other state attorneys general in suing Mayorkas over the illegal parole program, that created a de facto pathway to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens.
"Your open invitation for illegal aliens to come to Missouri is not only dangerous but comes at great expense to Missouri taxpayers, residents and business owners," Bailey stated in his letter. "Rather than undermining the rule of law, I invite you to join me as I actively seek to defend it and protect Missourians."
The Attorney General's Office did not respond to requests for further comment.