Kansas City resident Adrián Mendoza has been in custody since July 9, 2026, and awaits his court hearing before an immigration judge. He calls his wife, Aylin Castro, remaining hopeful that the judge will give him a chance to seek asylum.
But the conditions at the detention center are bleak, and the calls are expensive. Mendoza currently has a dental issue that requires a root canal, and he has only been given medication to manage the pain and infection as he waits for necessary treatment.
On top of that, the food that Mendoza receives barely sustains him, and meal deposits for “something extra” stretch only to an instant soup or a bread roll, his wife said.
Yet, as mounting legal and detention fees pile up, hope for his release gives Castro enough strength to survive the dire conditions.
Adrián Mendoza was one of the reported eight people escorted and detained out of La Fontanella Foods, a food manufacturing warehouse in Kansas City’s Historic Northeast, during an enforcement operation on July 9.
“The last message I received from him came after he said goodbye,” Castro said through an interpreter. “He told me he loved me and thanked me for the breakfast I had packed in his lunchbox.”
Adrián Mendoza left his birth country Ecuador in 2023, wanting a better future for himself and his loved ones, according to his wife.
“He felt his future was limited by the violence and insecurity affecting his community,” Castro said. “He didn't want to grow up surrounded by that environment, or feel pressured by people involved in crime.”
Castro said Mendoza has never stopped loving Ecuador. But the country has seen a significant surge in homicides over the last five years, and organized crime continues to create fear and insecurity among the country's residents.
At roughly 10 a.m., a hotline call notified the KC Community Defense Coalition, an immigrant rights advocacy group, that about five suspected ICE vehicles were located at the Richard Bolling Federal Building, 601 E. 12th St., and the Kansas City Fire Department, 635 Woodland Ave.
“After 10 a.m., I stopped receiving messages. His location disappeared from the map, and his phone appeared to be turned off,” Castro said.
Four responders followed the vehicles before arriving at La Fontanella Foods on 8th Street and Highland Avenue. At least eight officials, including Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forté, were at the scene.
By roughly 10:25 a.m., three people were seen being escorted and detained around the back of the building into an unmarked, white Ford Transit Cargo Van.
Aylin Castro first learned of her husband’s situation via social media, she said.
“Before I could go look for him, I started seeing live streams on Facebook and TikTok showing Adrián in custody, handcuffed and with his feet shackled,” Castro said. “Seeing him in that state was deeply painful.”
The van holding the detainees exited the facility at 11:15 a.m. It is still not known where all of the detainees were taken following the arrests.
Federal search warrant confirmed
The Kansas City Star reported that the regional spokesperson for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Robert Hughes, described in a July 9 statement that the operation was executing “a federal criminal search warrant in Kansas City.”
The federal warrant was a search and seizure warrant on the property of La Fontanella Foods, issued and signed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill A. Morris, on July 7, 2026.
However, the federal warrant does not identify anyone by name, and the probable cause statement has been sealed by the court. A warrant clerk told KCUR that the first section of the warrant would be all the information available at this time.
A worker at La Fontanella Foods said officers told employees they were there to conduct a document search.
Another employee, who has worked at La Fontanella Foods for a year, said officers claimed that no one would be detained or taken into custody. The worker said agents later detained eight people.
KCUR is not using the names of the workers at La Fontanella Foods because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
“The manager with the search warrant said they had a warrant for documents, but that the agents themselves said they were going to arrest people,” said a member of the immigrant-rights advocacy organization KC Community Defense Coalition, who asked to be identified only as Mark to avoid unnecessary publicity. “This is a tactic that has happened here before with El Potro. They come in, say they're there for a document search and then just start arresting everyone there by racial profiling.”
Jackson County officials respond
The Jackson County Legislature held a public hearing on July 15 to discuss the relationship between county and federal agencies. Chairman Manny Abarca invited several elected officials and members of Clay and Jackson counties in Missouri, and Wyandotte Johnson counties in Kansas.
Nearly 40 Kansas City residents attended. Only four of the legislators, alongside Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson and County Executive Phil LeVota, showed up.
Abarca responded to the outrage expressed by residents, urging the public to be more assertive in working with their elected officials.
“If you don't believe in government, why are you sitting here? You don't think we should exist? Fine. Step outside of the chambers because we're existing,” Abarca said. “I need you all. I'm begging you all, stop dismantling the government for folks who are sitting here, willing to change it.”
Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forté was not present at the public hearing.
“Respectfully, I will not participate in attention-seeking activities, especially on such notice,” Forté said in direct response to Abarca. “I've built a great relationship with federal partners over the years and will not risk relationships based on the whims of an unhinged, attention-seeking narcissist.”
Forté said in a Facebook post that the enforcement operation on July 9 was not an “immigration raid.” Forté added that the sheriff’s office was not directly involved in carrying out the federal search warrant.
He added that his office does not have information on how many people were detained and why, according to the Kansas City Star.
‘A son, a brother, a friend and a human being’
Aylin Castro has received support from the Hispanic community, but she says some have lost empathy for the immigrant community and others fail to grasp the gravity of these cases.
“Many came to this country seeking an opportunity — working, contributing and trying to build a better life. They didn't come to take anything from anyone,” Castro said.
As attorney fees and court costs delay the hope of her husband's release, Castro has organized a GoFundMe to share Mendoza's story and help defray the mounting cost of his case.
If Adrián Mendoza is released, she says her husband will continue pursuing his dreams towards becoming an entrepreneur, and that, one day, he will give the resources and opportunities that he has always wished to provide.
“Behind this situation is a son, a brother, a friend, and a human being who deserves the chance to defend his case with dignity,” Castro wrote in her GoFundMe post, translated from Spanish.
