Wichita ? Local law enforcement agencies in Kansas and across the nation have dramatically stepped up their checks on the immigration status of suspects this past year, statistics show.

Records at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Law Enforcement Support Center in Vermont showed a 20 percent increase in the number of inquiries about immigration status coming from Kansas law enforcement officers for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Kansas officers asked for the status on suspects in 3,315 cases, up from 2,759 immigration checks the year before, ICE spokesman Carl Rusnok said.

Rusnok attributed the increase to the public and law enforcement being more aware of immigration issues.

There are no statistics in Douglas County, but officials here said they were being vigilant. “It is important for local, state and federal authorities to work together on any issue, as it increases the safety of our communities and solves crime,” said Lt. Kari Wempe, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

Wempe said the department has a cooperative working relationship with federal agencies, such as ICE. In Douglas County, she said, officers may be rigorous in asking suspects if they are in the United States unlawfully only when they have a reason to believe they are an illegal alien. The sheriff’s department does not keep statistics on how many illegal aliens were discovered after being lawfully stopped or investigated, she said.

The Kansas Highway Patrol runs an identification check on everybody its troopers stop. And in cases where suspects do not have identification papers, troopers run a check on their immigration status, technical trooper Edna Buttler said.

“The response from immigration is slow, and sometimes they don’t respond at all. … Most of the time they won’t even come and get them,” Buttler said.

Rusnok said ICE has to prioritize its operations, and the agency’s biggest priority is going after undocumented immigrants who commit crimes.

“The bottom line is that ICE agents and officers work with the local law enforcement on a daily basis, and we always try to respond to the calls of local law enforcement whenever possible,” he said.