Missouri's attorney general threatened legal action after Kansas City's mayor opened the city to illegal migrants.
In a letter, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey warned Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas not to allow migrants into Missouri.
"We are a nation governed by the rule of law," Bailey wrote. "Yet, under the current Administration in Washington, DC, laws that don't align with a radically progressive agenda are simply ignored. Chief among these are laws that prohibit illegal immigration into our country and into the State of Missouri.
"Yet, against the backdrop of literally millions of illegal aliens flooding our borders, overwhelming the social safety net of large American cities, and in some cases even committing violent crimes against our citizens, you are actively encouraging them to come to the Show Me State."
Bailey then taunted Lucas, quoting from the mayor's post on X that read: "All are welcome in Kansas City. Proud to work with my fellow mayors [from Denver and NYC] as we work to ensure decompression of new arriving communities decompression of new arriving communities and collaboration among cities, labor, non-profits, and federal officials.'"
Lucas later amended his statements to be about those with work permits.
"Immigration is a tough, but important issue, even when discussing, as I am, persons who are lawfully present, with lawful work permits, and the lawful ability to come to our community," Lucas wrote.
But Bailey slammed the comments as "widely irresponsible" and that Lucas was encouraging "Missouri businesses to become entangled in a fundamentally unlawful program, and exposing them to legal liability in the process."
The attorney general also cited the accused murderer of Laken Riley, Jose Ibarra, who also had a "so-called 'work permit'" to discourage the mayor from taking any action in bringing illegal immigrants to the state.
In Missouri, businesses are prohibited from hiring illegal immigrants. It's a class D felony to knowingly transport illegal immigrants into the state, the Post Millennial reported.
Bailey warned Lucas: "Make no mistake, my office will do everything in its power to take legal action against any person or entity found to be in violation of these statutes."
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