(The Sentinel) — The City of Overland Park, Kansas, seems set to defy the federal government over immigration and DEI policies after receiving a $500,000 grant from the Department of Transportation.

At the September 8, 2025, Overland Park City Council meeting, the council voted to accept the “Safe Streets and Roads for All” grant which is intended to “enhance the city’s walkability and bikeability,” according to KMBC TV.

However, like most federal grants, it comes with strings — in this case, requiring the city to help with immigration enforcement and to comply with federal and state law regarding so-called “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” or DEI programs. Namely, that there be none.

“Recipient (Overland Park) will cooperate with Federal officials in the enforcement of Federal law, including cooperating with and not impeding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other Federal offices and components of the Department of Homeland Security in the enforcement of Federal immigration law,” the grant reads.

It also states: “Ending Illegal Discrimination And Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity, by entering into this agreement, the Recipient certifies that it does not operate any programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives that violate any applicable Federal anti-discrimination laws.”

Several residents during the public comment period took exception to the DEI requirements in the agreement.

Among them was Malcolm Atherton, who said Overland Park’s “perfect score on the Municipal Equality Index … is a testament to this progress.”

“The fine print in this document appears to require the City of Overland Park to adhere to federal initiatives that would strip our city of the very DEI programs we have worked so hard to implement,” he said. “On one hand, we are celebrating a welcoming community, but on the other, it seems like we’re being asked to dismantle the very foundation of that progress in exchange for a half-million-dollar grant.”

City Manager Lori Curtis Luther said there will be “no change” to the city’s DEI programs.

“I want to assure all of the individuals who came to speak tonight and those who didn’t come tonight, but may also share those concerns, that there will be no change in our interactions with ICE, there will be no change to our policies with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the clauses and the contract that address those issues, and we can go over them if you wish,” Luther said. “We do not believe that they alter the way that we currently interact in any way. For example, the language regarding Diversity, Equity, Inclusion specifically references any violation of applicable federal anti discrimination laws. We do not violate any anti discrimination laws, so we are in compliance and language in regard to federal immigration law requires that we cooperate and not impede. Kansas State law already requires that our police officers not impede. We do not, will not, cannot enforce federal immigration law period, the police chief and I personally met with advocates of our Latinx community this afternoon.”

That would suggest that the city has eliminated its DEI programs as required by federal law.

However, screenshots from the city’s official websites tell a different tale.

For example, on the City Manager’s page, there is a section asking residents to report “discriminatory” behavior by city employees and “LGBTQ+ support” which is “a priority of the city manager’s office” and asks residents to reach out to “LGBTQ+ Liaison/Sustainability Manager Lara Isch.

The Overland Park Police Department also notes that the department “does not have any agreement with ICE, such as the 287(g) program, that would authorize our police officers to act on ICE’s behalf. Our officers are not deputized to assist in federal immigration enforcement, and they would not be involved in detaining individuals or assisting ICE agents in those activities,” and “The Overland Park Police Department does not participate in immigration enforcement. The department responds to immediate emergencies to protect lives and property, and preserve the peace in Overland Park.”

On the “sustainability” page, there is a section on “social sustainability resources,” which states, “The U.S. The Chamber of Commerce found that businesses incorporating DEI practices outperform their counterparts.”

However, according to the Foundation for Economic Education, similar studies appear to be “bunk.”

“A … study published in Econ Journal Watch, a semiannual peer-reviewed academic journal, shows that researchers were unable to replicate the results of all four McKinsey studies.

“'[O]ur results indicate that despite the imprimatur often given to McKinsey’s 2015, 2018, 2020, and 2023 studies, McKinsey’s studies neither conceptually … nor empirically … support the argument that large US public firms can expect on average to deliver improved financial performance if they increase the racial/ethnic diversity of their executives,’ professors John R. M. Hand and Jeremiah Green found.”