Three people picked up in immigration raids at the El Toro Loco locations in Lenexa and Kansas City, Kansas, had been released as of Friday morning, immigration advocates confirmed.
The coordinated raids by Homeland Security Investigations agents took place at both locations of El Toro Loco Mexican Bar and Grill at 11 a.m., according to the local group Advocates for Immigration Rights and Reconciliation.
The advocacy group said in a press release Wednesday that seven workers were detained at 1706 Village West Parkway in Kansas City, Kansas, and four workers were taken into custody at the 10088 Woodland Road location in Lenexa.
It's not clear which location the three released people were from.
AIRR also says at least one of the people detained was sent to the Kay County Detention Center in northern Oklahoma. The facility, located about an hour south of Wichita, Kansas, is listed on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website as a detention site.
The AIRR spokesperson added that some of the people swept up in Wednesday’s ICE actions are now seeking legal counsel.
Lenexa was notified of the warrant before the raid
On Thursday, Lenexa city officials confirmed that federal immigration authorities informed the city that the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, had issued a criminal search warrant, ahead of the raid at El Toro Loco, 10088 Woodland Road.
According to witnesses and other businesses in the strip mall near El Toro Loco in Lenexa, agents with Homeland Security Investigations, an investigative arm of ICE, first showed up at the restaurant around 11 a.m. Wednesday.
AIRR representatives who came to the restaurant as the raid was carried out questioned the HSI agents, who cited a criminal search warrant and suggested the investigation was related to “allegations of labor trafficking and exploitation.”
In a statement posted to Facebook on Thursday, Lenexa Mayor Julie Sayers said Lenexa Police officers did not participate in the raid and were not present during the execution of the warrant.
Sayers added that Lenexa officials, even though they’d been notified of ICE’s enforcement action before it was carried out, “did not have visibility to the underlying facts of the case.”
She said outside law enforcement agencies sometimes give the city advance notice they will be carrying out an operation inside the city “as a professional courtesy, but they are not obligated to do so.”
She continued:
“The Lenexa Police Department’s position remains consistent: our mission centers on community policing — building trust, maintaining public safety, and serving all who live, work, and visit Lenexa, regardless of immigration status. Our responsibility is to protect the public, uphold the law, and serve our community with honor, integrity, and professionalism.”
Immigration authorities have detained people around Kansas and Missouri, including those with legal permission to work in the United States. Arrests, and the fear of raids, have had a chilling effect on immigrant communities.
The Johnson County Post's Kyle Palmer, Juliana Garcia and Kaylie McLaughlin contributed reporting.
