U.S. citizen from Coffeyville was transferred to an ICE detention center following reports of increased ICE presence

Coffeyville, Kansas | July 3, 2026

By Susan Barnett

The intersection in the city of Coffeyville, which witnessed multiple arrests by immigration officers, now looks empty, with the vehicles of detained individuals still parked there. Original photograph by Blanca López.

Tomás Fransisco Manuel, 19, was on his way to work on the morning of Thursday, June 26, when he was stopped by a Coffeyville Police Department officer, the local police force. 

“When the police spoke to him and asked for his license, another man approached who turned out to be an immigration agent,” said Maria Manuel, Tomás’ aunt. She says Tomas does not have a driver’s license but showed his state ID. “That was when they ordered him out of the car, and because he resisted, they forcibly pulled him out.”

They took him to the police station, where Maria Manuel was going to pick him up. She called the station, and they said his bond was set at $4,500. With the money in hand, she went to pick him up.

“When I got there, I told them I was there to pick up Tomás, and they said, ‘No, he has an ICE hold now, and they’re going to take him to the Kay County (Detention Center),’” Maria Manuel said.

The only thing: Tomás is a U.S. citizen.

“And I asked them why they were taking him all the way there; he’s an American citizen. What was the reason? What prompted it? And they couldn’t tell me anything.”

Planeta Venus contacted CPD several times by phone and email but received no response.

Last week marked an increase in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) presence in Coffeyville and in collaboration with local police, according to Blanca Lopez, an activist and leader in the Latino community. Coffeyville, a town of more than 8,500 inhabitants according to Data USA, is located in southeastern Kansas, where few people are aware of the rapid growth of the Latino population.

Last Wednesday, López received reports regarding eight different people, and on Thursday, two more whom ICE had detained. According to the information she has received, ICE is detaining people while they are in transit — sometimes in conjunction with local police — and has even gone so far as to knock on doors.

“This is something that hadn’t happened before, at least not here in Coffeyville,” she said, adding that while she doesn’t understand the reason for such a drastic increase, she believes it marks the beginning of a stronger ICE presence. “This is something completely different.”

Collaboration with local police 

In November 2025, the Coffeyville Police Department signed a 287(g) agreement with ICE under the Task Force Model, the most expansive option that allows authorized officers to investigate immigration status during routine patrols and community interactions, according to the National Immigration Forum. It is one of the few municipal departments in Kansas to have entered into this agreement. 

“We will not conduct raids, house-to-house operations, or arrests based on appearance or language. Our work remains focused on responding to crimes and protecting all Coffeyville residents,” Police Chief Shane Bromley previously stated in a press release.

But according to Maria Manuel, the police gave no reason for the traffic stop, and immigration officers appeared almost immediately.

“That same afternoon, he called me in tears, saying he was being detained and asking what was going to happen to him,” said Maria Manuel. “He told me, ‘They’re holding me, and I don’t know why they sent me all the way here.’ All I could tell him was not to worry, that we were doing everything possible to get him out, but that he would have to give us some time because we didn’t know what to do.”

They got in contact with Lopez, who helped them find a lawyer. 

According to Data USA, 17% of Coffeyville's population is Latino, with 5.5% born outside the U.S., Mexico being the most common country of origin. The Latino community in Coffeyville is very diverse, with nine countries represented, Lopez said. 

Still, anti-immigrant sentiment persists in this small community. In the 2024 presidential election, Coffeyville voted for President Donald Trump, giving him 57% of the vote.

“They went out… and never made it back home” 

Among those affected are three families whose parents — whether one or both — were detained, leaving nine children aged three months to 16 years on their own.

One family told López they received a call from their relative at a detention center informing them of the situation. Another family said their relative had gone out to run errands that morning and never returned. Others report that at some stops, ICE arrived alongside local police.

“People usually call me because I’ve helped before,” says López.

Lopez has a solid group helping the affected families: buying and delivering groceries, diapers, formula, and other necessities, and coordinating care for the affected children.

“What I ended up doing was calling the police department to check if the people I’d been told about were individuals they had detained, or if we needed to file a missing person report,” López said. “Because there were people who never called; they just went out to run errands and never made it back home.”

But aside from López and her community work, there aren't many resources or forms of assistance available to the affected families.

The impact on the Latino community 

The detentions have had a profound impact on Coffeyville’s Latino community. Lopez runs a group chat with over 500 Latinos in the area and said the news has spread regarding the increase in immigration enforcement operations by ICE. 

“There were many people who didn’t go to work (on Thursday); there were many people who didn’t go to work (on Friday); the fear is persistent,” said López. “Right now, it seems like everyone is in limbo; everyone is hiding; no one is leaving their home.”

Maria Manuel says she has seen the fear too.

“People are really scared right now; for instance, at the factory where a majority (of Latinos) work, most people aren't coming in anymore. So many are absent because of the fear and anxiety they feel,” said Maria Manuel. “What most people are doing is asking others to do their weekly grocery shopping for them, because they are terrified of going out.”

Tomás was released from detention the following day, Friday, June 27, around 7 p.m., without any of his belongings. When they asked where they could pick them up, they were told to go to the detention center where he had been held; however, after making the two-hour trip to Kay County, they were unable to retrieve the items, and to this day, they have not been returned.

“I didn’t want to ask him questions because I saw he wasn’t himself. He came out very frightened because he had been with other people who had already been there for a long time,” said Maria Manuel. “He says there are people there who seem to have lost their minds from being locked up for so long; that the food was terrible; and that he couldn't sleep in the sleeping area because of all the people inside; there was a lot of commotion. It’s the kind of thing that messes with your head.”

He considered filing a countersuit, but Maria Manuel says that would require lawyers, money, and time.

For now, the community is frightened and lacks significant resources to fall back on.

“The most important thing is that we remain united and put our differences aside,” said López. “Let’s set aside the labeling and understand that when it comes to the Hispanic community, when something is happening against people who look like us, it should be a concern for all of us.”