Was ICE going door-to-door in Kansas City’s Northland? Here’s what we know
Residents in Kansas City’s Northland are hearing mixed information on whether armed federal immigration officers patrolled their neighborhoods over the weekend.
And as of Monday evening, it’s not exactly clear if they did, or did not.
Across the metro Sunday evening, people posted to social media, texted friends and loved ones, or told others that they had heard officers with U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement were knocking on doors, walking through people’s lawns and scoping out neighborhoods.
But local law enforcement is saying the person who initially posted photos of armed officers approaching his house fabricated those images. And advocates who keep an eye on local immigration enforcement activities said they weren’t sure whether federal officers were looking for immigrants in that area at that time.
As of publication time, the person who posted those initial photos had not responded to a request for comment from The Star. They later deleted their initial post on Monday evening.
“ICE is in the Gladstone area right now specifically in the 64118 and 64119 zipcode,” they wrote in the post. “They’re walking around knocking on everyone’s front door. Be alert.”
Clay County Sheriff Will Akin said that those photos weren’t real, and were wrongfully spreading fear in the area. He wrote in a recent social media post that both local and federal law enforcement officials confirmed that “there was no law enforcement activity in the area at the alleged time.”
Akin added that if the person who first reported out that information chooses to discuss it with him in detail, he will “take the information and investigate further and report out.”
“I encourage everyone to pause before sharing unconfirmed claims and to rely on verified information from trusted sources,” he wrote. “Our community is strongest when we look out for one another and respond with facts, calm, and care.”
Immigration policing in KC metro
Rumors are swirling as questions arise about how local decision makers will address widespread efforts to eradicate people who are undocumented from communities across the country.
In Kansas City, this recently included officials’ move to block federal immigration detention centers from the city limits for at least the next five-years. First District Legislator Manny Abarca is sponsoring legislation calling on law enforcement, including ICE officers, to not cover their faces or badges while on duty in Jackson County. The county is hosting a listening session on the item Tuesday evening.
People across the country have been more closely watching the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities, particularly after the killing of former KC-area resident Renee Good, who ICE officers fatally shot in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Protest in Northland KC
A handful of demonstrators — including Gladstone residents, area advocates, Abarca and more — gathered in Kansas City’s Northland Monday afternoon to protest federal immigration enforcement activities .
With temps in the 20s, protestors stood roadside, bundled up as drivers by honked in support of their cause or called out in opposition to them.
“F**k you guys!” one man shouted from his car as he drove by. He flipped his middle finger at them.
A Gladstone resident who was protesting, and who asked not to be named in the story for his family’s safety, said he first heard that immigration officers were armed and about five minutes from his home from social media. But he didn’t see anyone outside his own home.
“ Es un alarmo,” he told The Star, “Un alarmo y miedo,” meaning he was afraid when he first heard that could be happening.
The resident accused ICE officers across the country of violating laws that protect people’s rights in immigration enforcement situations. He said there’s a law they’re violating that transcends a federal level.
“Que es la de Dios,” he said, meaning they’re also violating the word of God.
Robert Price, a Gladstone resident who joined the protest, said the way the country has approached immigration enforcement defies its values.
Price has grandchildren who are Latino.
“The idea that ICE could go into their school, drag them out …” he said. “ … That they could be dragged off, no name, by masked people with guns, handcuffed … how horrible do you have to be to think that’s OK?”
As of publication time, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson had not responded to a message seeking whether any ICE activities happened in Gladstone over the weekend.
This story was originally published January 19, 2026 at 7:48 PM.
