DHS anti-trafficking operation rescues 8 children in Kansas City amid public scrutiny

Eight children have been rescued from human trafficking and 14 people arrested during the World Cup in Kansas City, but Homeland Security officials continue to face pushback from some residents and public officials.

“We have people working seven days a week, 12 to 16 hours per day,” Richard Sabatini, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City, said of efforts during the soccer tournament, which held its last game in the city Saturday.

The operation identified nine victims of human trafficking and rescued eight missing children, many of whom are runaway teenagers. Of the 14 people arrested, some are migrants with prior criminal convictions.

The teens “are reported missing by their families or their care providers,” Sabatini explained. “However, they end up on the streets, they end up with these traffickers who [make] them available for these human trafficking events. …

“We find them every day, so the best thing that we can do is have people keep an eye on your kids.”

Despite the agency’s efforts to protect Kansas City, especially its children, public hostility toward HSI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers has seemingly increased.

In an operation some mistakenly believed was an ICE raid last week, HSI agents escorted people out of La Fontanella Foods, a food manufacturing plant in northeast Kansas City.

Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forté said in an X post that agents were executing a federal criminal search warrant that was not related to immigration enforcement. Forté also said Jackson County deputies were not involved. However, authorities discovered an unregistered sex offender during execution of the warrant, and a detective with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office arrested the individual.

Videos of the operation show several bystanders holding phones in HSI agents’ faces to record what was happening, while at least one person yelled at the agents.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas posted a video statement on X in Spanish, implying federal agents were unfairly targeting law-abiding residents.

“At a time when Kansas City has come together to celebrate and share our diverse cultures, ICE agents are conducting raids in our region and today, right here in Kansas City, pulling our neighbors from their jobs and the doorsteps of their own homes,” he said.

In a contrasting statement, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe noted that on his first day in office, he signed an executive order allowing Missouri to participate in the 287(g) program, which allows federal and state agencies to work together to combat illegal immigration.

Kehoe said the anti-trafficking effort during the World Cup demonstrates the partnership’s success.

“Five individuals from Mexico and Guatemala were arrested; we saved eight children during this operation,” he said. “We took advantage of bad people trying to prey on innocent children during an international opportunity and celebration like the World Cup.”