Homeland Security arrests at least 6 people at Kansas City food processing plant
An enforcement action by federal authorities appeared to be in progress Thursday morning at a food manufacturing facility in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast area.
At least six people were seen being escorted out of La Fontanella Foods on Eighth Street around 11 a.m. Thursday by several law enforcement agents wearing jackets labeled HSI, or Homeland Security Investigations, which is a unit of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A bystander at the scene said seven people had been detained, and a worker told a reporter that eight people had been taken. Several community advocates had responded to the scene and were filming the HSI agents.
In a statement to The Star, a regional ICE spokesperson confirmed the operation and described it as executing “a federal criminal search warrant in Kansas City.”
“To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further. There is no threat to the public,” the agency wrote.
It was unclear whether the individuals arrested were employees, and agents responding to the scene did not answer any questions. The agents were in several unmarked vehicles with Kansas and Missouri license plates.
Around 11:45 a.m., more agents arrived to the facility in plain clothes and put on jackets that said HSTF, or Homeland Security Task Force, which is a partnership between HSI and the Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at addressing “criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations operating in America’s heartland.”
The agents appeared to remove documents and computers in bags from the facility.
A spokesperson for Kansas City’s FBI office did not immediately respond to requests for further information.
La Fontanella Foods is a manufacturer of food products including Cascone’s pasta sauce, once affiliated with Cascone’s Italian restaurant in the Northland.
Owner Victor Casconi declined to speak with reporters on Wednesday.
Homeland Security Investigations is a law enforcement agency that serves as the investigative arm of ICE within the federal department. The unit “conducts federal criminal investigations into the illegal movement of people, goods, money, contraband, weapons and sensitive technology into, out of and through the United States,” it says on its website. It has an office in KC’s Northland.
The operation comes just one day after local advocates issued a community advisory warning Kansas Citians of heightened immigration enforcement in the area in recent weeks.
This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.
The Star’s Ilana Arougheti contributed reporting.
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 11:42 AM.
