Marina S. | Red Phoenix correspondent | Kansas–

On the morning of Jan. 13, residents of the Kansas City Northland reported that dozens of vehicles displaying ICE logos were found in a parking lot within sight of a popular local  amusement park. The placement of the vehicles, so close to such a popular attraction for working class families in the city, brought on initial reports of an imminent raid in the area. However, it was quickly confirmed that the trucks were being parked after being serviced and outfitted in preparation for being moved to an undisclosed location outside of the city.

The appearance  of the vehicles, while ultimately not bound for activity in Kansas City, exposes part of a plan for increasing waves of shameless attacks, kidnappings and harassment against Kansas city residents at the end of ICE’s jackboots.

According to a leaked document, Kansas City is slated to be the site of one of seven proposed immigration “mega centers” to be built as part of a network of concentration camps across the country. On Jan. 15, ICE officers were confirmed to be touring the proposed site of the facility, located less than a mile from the Honeywell Factory where 80% of the nuclear weapon components used by the US military are manufactured. During the inspection, federal agents surrounded the vehicle of a county legislator who came to observe the proceedings and threatened him with arrest. The agents later confirmed to the legislator that they plan to be able to hold at least 7,500 people. 

The animalistic treatment of our neighbors at these “mega sites” is made clear by their application of the logistics methods used by Amazon to the processing of detainees, with ICE acting director Todd Lyons saying: “We need to get better at treating this like a business, like (Amazon) Prime, but with human beings.”

It has now been confirmed that negotiations between the federal government and the property owners, the Kansas City based investment firm Platform Ventures, had been in process since October 2025 and are now complete.

As reports on social media circulated among enraged residents, so did reports of increased harassment and intimidation by ICE fascists.

On Jan. 15, a 49 year old woman from Lee’s Summit, Missouri drove by the planned site after reposting a news story about it on social media. When she arrived she saw that reporters and protestors were already present. She briefly stopped to talk with some friends she recognized and then left. Later that afternoon, DHS agents appeared at her front door. For the rest of the day, she could see federal vehicles circling her home, waiting for her to leave. She was not alone as across the KC Metro area, ICE agents have been reported  engaging in door-to-door operations terrorizing residents.

While these events are understandably frightening for the working and exploited people of Kansas City, it is also becoming clear that resistance to the open-state terrorism of these ICE operations is also on the rise.

On Jan. 20, students from Bishop Ward Highschool in Kansas City, Kansas staged a mass walk-out. The walk-out was planned by two students in solidarity with other walk-outs taking place across the country. Shortly after the walk-out began, they were joined by students from the nearby Wyandotte high school. Ultimately hundreds of young people took part  in the walk-out openly challenging ICE terrorism and in doing so demonstrated that the working people of Kansas City are openly opposed to the increasing state violence being visited upon their neighbors.

Much remains uncertain for the besieged residents of Kansas City. The City Council has passed a five-year moratorium on permits, licenses, and zoning for non-municipal detention centers and many other municipalities in the metro area are introducing similar ordinances. While it would be foolish to depend on such statutes to stand against the increasing depravity of the Trump regime, it serves as evidence of increasing tension between the city, which is forced to act due to the overwhelming opposition of citizens, and ICE. It is becoming increasingly clear that the exploited  and freedom loving people of Kansas City remain committed to fighting against ICE terrorism.

Categories: Immigration, U.S. News