On The Vine: Kansas City’s concerned about ICE, so what’s been going on
Everyone is wondering whether Kansas City might become the next target on the map for federal agents to invade communities with overly aggressive immigration detention actions. Not enough seems to be known, but there certainly are a lot of questions about ICE in our city and what may come next.
For starters, at a community meeting held Tuesday at Metropolitan Community College, Kansas Citians were vocal about wanting city leaders to stop Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers from covering their faces while detaining folks in Kansas City.
Residents are concerned; they have been protesting the Trump administration’s immigration deportation tactics for weeks now. And protests picked up after Jan. 7 when former Kansas City resident Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, was shot and killed by a federal agent in Minneapolis.
Some who are immigrants say they are lying low because they are afraid to speak at all about the situation for fear that might put them on federal agents’ radar.
A long-time friend, who immigrated to the U.S. from Kenya, and who I’m not identifying here to protect his safety, says Hispanic residents of Kansas City are not the only immigrants on edge in this city.
Kansas City is very diverse with a significant immigrant population from India, China, the Philippines, and several African nations.
Videos of area residents being detained, dozens of ICE-labeled vehicles in a parking lot near Worlds of Fun, and recent unsubstantiated rumors of agents going door-to-door in Clay County looking for undocumented residents have put a lot of residents, whether they are citizens or not, on edge.
Last week, a video that showed a man being wrestled to the ground by armed immigration enforcement officers outside an apartment complex in Grandview went viral on social media.
City officials said the ICE-branded vehicles were in Kansas City for decaling and that most would be transported out of the city.
Kansas City officials have taken steps to block federal immigration detention centers from operating within the city limits. The latter came hours after news broke that ICE is seeking to open such a detention center in South Kansas City.
ICE agents and Department of Homeland Security officials were reportedly spotted last week touring a vacant South Kansas City warehouse to potentially be used as a large immigration detention facility that would hold thousands of detainees. Reports of federal agents scouting a location in an industrial area of Kansas City led U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver to send a letter to Department of Homeland Security officials denouncing a possible site being located in his Congressional district.
Manny Abarca, chairman of the Jackson County Legislature, has drafted legislation forbidding ICE agents from wearing masks while conducting federal actions in the area. The ordinance says that if caught hiding their identity, agents could be charged with a misdemeanor.
Off The Vine
Below are stories about culture and identity from communities in the Kansas City metro area. Go here to find more stories on culture and identity from Star reporter J.M. Banks.
- A tenured chemistry professor at Metropolitan Community College is concentrating on Kansas City’s urban core to make science approachable, relevant and more culturally grounded. Banks interviewed this chemist and educator to see how he’s opening more doors to STEM careers.
- A Kansas City native and dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, returned to his hometown to dance in a free public concert on The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday and Banks sat down to talk with him about his journey in dance.
Around The Vine
- Join Kansas City artists at First Saturdays at Keystone, an artist and vendor market featuring live music and food trucks, presented by the 18th & Vine Arts Festival Foundation free to the public from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 7. and every first Saturday of the month, at Keystone, 800 E 18th St. in Kansas City.
- Get ready for Pop is Black, a concert with KC’s top Black pop artists from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 28 at the Zhou B. Art Center, 1801 E. 18th St., Kansas City.
Vine Picks
- The Black Movie Hall of fame was supposed to open in the 18th & Vine Historic Jazz District this winter but that’s not going to happen. Banks went to find out why.
- Editorial writer Toriano Porter looks at audit on mismanaged finances in the Hickman Mills School District mentioning over spending on a reckless Ghana trip.
- Star reporter Jenna Thompson spoke to the parents of a teen who survived a shooting last weekend at a popular bar inear the University of Kansas in Lawrence here’s what they said about their son.
- It’s been a while and it’s been sorely missed, but now this iconic Kansas City BBQ restaurant is back open. The menu’s the same but see what’s new inside.
Your voice matters to us. What local issues do you want to hear discussed in On The Vine? Let me, Mará Rose Williams, The Star’s assistant managing editor for race and equity, know directly at mdwilliams@kcstar.com. Thank you for reading. Support our local journalists with a subscription.
This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 12:23 PM.
