Report: Kansas city councilwoman investigated over citizenship after someone left anonymous voicemail for state investigators

During a Lenexa City Council meeting on Tuesday in Kansas, Councilwoman Melanie Arroyo revealed that she has recently been investigated by local police regarding her citizenship status after someone filed an anonymous complaint with state investigators.

The investigation in the Kansas City, Kan. metro reportedly stemmed from an anonymous citizen filing a complaint via voicemail about Arroyo when she testified in opposition of a state bill to eliminate tuition funds for immigrants, according to the Kansas Reflector. The voicemail claimed without evidence that she was in the United States illegally. The complaint was filed with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), which is overseen by Attorney General Kris Kobach’s (R) office. Kobach has a history of staunch anti-immigration views.

The investigation was transferred to the Lenexa Police Department from someone in Johnson County, and Arroyo was forced to hire an attorney and provide proof of her naturalization in 2018. Although the investigation was closed, Arroyo said it caused here emotional and mental harm. She decided to share her experience when a group of residents were upset by a federal raid at a Mexican restaurant in Lenexa last week.

“Our lives have been completely interrupted by this new administration but we cannot cower, we cannot let that fear win we need to lean on each other and be strong,” Arroyo told Fox 4 News.

Arroyo said people are right to feel scared in wake of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown, which includes a 3,000-arrests-per-day quota.

“These are targeted attacks against our immigrant community in Kansas City,” Arroyo said. “And people are right to feel targeted. People are right to feel scared.”

Lenexa (KS) Councilwoman Melanie Arroyo revealed that local police recently investigated her citizenship after an anonymous person filed a complaint with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). The KBI, overseen by Attorney General Kris Kobach (R), closed the case after she… pic.twitter.com/azQsiUTAHN

— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) August 7, 2025

Lenexa city attorney Sean McLaughlin defended the investigation at the meeting despite acknowledging there was no evidence corroborating the voicemail.

“Just because evidence doesn’t exist doesn’t mean we don’t investigate,” McLaughlin told the Reflector’s Sherman Smith.