Jackson County will also vote on banning approvals for ICE detention centers
Following the example of multiple local governments across the Kansas City metro, the Jackson County Legislature is looking to take a stand against the opening of any federal immigration detention facilities in the area.
Jackson County Legislative Chair Manny Abarca will introduce an ordinance next week echoing Kansas City, Missouri’s recently passed five-year moratorium on city-level approvals for non-municipal detention facilities. Like the city ordinance, Abarca’s proposal would block the county from approving proposals for any detention centers in county limits — excluding county-owned or municipal facilities — through January 2031.
“With credible reports that a massive ICE detention center is being explored in our region, now is the time for local government to draw a clear line and refuse to facilitate mass detention,” Abarca said in a statement earlier this week.
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas is also weighing a similar ordinance.
Abarca and Kansas City Councilmember Johnathan Duncan said they confirmed reports earlier this month that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering building a 7,500-bed detention facility in a south Kansas City warehouse. The Washington Post has also reported that ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have identified Kansas City as one of seven potential new detention center sites.
Hours after local officials identified the industrial site that ICE is reportedly eyeing for detention purposes, the Kansas City Council passed its moratorium on approvals for non-municipal detention centers within city limits.
Under the terms of the city ordinance, the council won’t grant such a facility local permits, licensing or other approvals for at least five years. Abarca hopes to get Jackson County officials behind something similar, which would apply to the unincorporated areas of the county.
“When federal power is putting communities… on edge, local government has a responsibility to act where we have authority,” Abarca said. “Jackson County should not be complicit in building the infrastructure for enforcement operations that are routinely violating due process and constitutional rights.”
The Port Authority of Kansas City is also considering a move to signal its opposition to an ICE facility because of the agency’s ties to the warehouse building in question. While it no longer controls the property, Port KC provided $80 million in bonds to help build it years ago. Now, the agency’s board is threatening to sever ties with Platform Ventures, the Kansas City company that owns the warehouse, if the company sells the building to become an ICE detention center.
Abarca’s ordinance was initially set to be introduced in front of the full legislature last week, but was pushed to Jan. 2 due to inclement weather.
The county’s proposed ban isn’t the only immigration enforcement-related legislation on Monday’s docket. Legislators will also revisit a revised version of an ordinance requiring law enforcement officers, including ICE officers, to keep their faces and badge numbers visible while working in Jackson County.
This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 4:31 PM.