Kansas City protesting ICE isn’t obstruction — it’s the First Amendment at work | Opinion

Over the past several days, local businesses and workers in the Kansas City region have found themselves caught in a political storm, facing harassment and threats for simply exercising their constitutional right to free speech in ways critical of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In several cases, people opposing ICE have been doxed, with their personal or workplace information being circulated online, and malicious comments about their businesses left on review websites. Further, ICE has employed cellphone and biometric tracking technology in its enforcement efforts.

While democracy requires space for disagreement, doxing is a form of intimidation and is contrary to our democratic values. It is meant to make people afraid to speak, associate or participate in civic life.

This matters not only because of the harm it causes to individuals and small businesses, but because it fits into a broader national pattern that should concern all of us.

At the federal level, agencies including ICE and officials at the Department of Homeland Security have increasingly suggested that observation, documentation and peaceful protest constitute “obstruction” of their actions. The implication is clear: The current federal administration seeks to intimidate the public by saying that what was once a sacred constitutional right will now be treated as criminal activity.

Peaceful observation is not obstruction. Taking video and photos of law enforcement officers in public is not obstruction. Organizing, protesting and associating with causes that challenge government policy are not obstruction. These are core First Amendment rights, long recognized by courts and essential to any functioning democracy.

When government rhetoric blurs that line, it has consequences beyond the immediate enforcement context. It shapes the broader political environment. If observation and speech are portrayed as threats, it becomes easier for others to justify harassment. It becomes easier to argue that intimidation is a reasonable response to dissent. Doxing, threats and targeting workplaces begin to look, to some, like acceptable tools rather than dangerous violations of civic norms.

That is how intimidation spreads. Not always through formal charges or mass arrests, but through fear that makes people think twice about showing up, speaking out, or even going to work.

In moments like this, it becomes clear why intimidation is being used. What masquerades as strength is, in reality, weakness. When ideas cannot win in the open, fear becomes the fallback.

Kansas City has a long tradition of protest, organizing and civic engagement grounded in the belief that people can speak, observe and disagree without fear of retaliation. That tradition is worth defending, not only in principle but in practice.

Peaceful dissent is not obstruction. Observation is not a crime. Doxing and threats are not political speech. They are attempts to silence it.

Defending constitutional rights means defending them consistently, especially when they protect speech we may disagree with. Drawing a firm line against intimidation is not partisan. It is how a democracy shows confidence in itself, and Kansas City should draw that line clearly.

Thank you to those businesses that spoke out against the violations of our U.S. Constitution and stood up for democracy. Rest assured, you have friends in this body of government to continue supporting you all — no matter what some isolated doxing online reviewer attempts.

Manny Abarca represents the 1st District in the Jackson County Legislature.

This story was originally published February 5, 2026 at 5:01 AM.