Overview
- Jackson County Legislature Chairman Manny Abarca said a DHS official told him a south Kansas City warehouse was toured for a potential 7,500‑bed ICE detention facility and that three other sites have been reviewed.
- ICE said it is working to expand detention space and described any facilities as structured detention centers, but the agency stated it has no new detention centers to announce at this time.
- Local leaders, including Mayor Quinton Lucas and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, condemned the reported plan and pledged to fight any such facility in the region.
- The Washington Post previously reported a national plan for multiple large detention centers and a $29.9 million no‑bid contract tied to the effort, a claim local officials are seeking to verify.
- Port KC said a rumored industrial building near East 149th Street is privately owned by Platform Ventures and that the authority would not support uses inconsistent with its mission, as ATF confirmed participation in a separate immigration enforcement arrest in nearby Grandview.