US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained a five-year-old boy on Tuesday during an immigration enforcement operation, Minnesota school officials and the family's lawyer have said.
Pre-schooler Liam Ramos was with his father - named by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias - when Conejo Arias was approached by agents on his driveway.
In a statement posted on X, the DHS said ICE did NOT target a child, but was conducting an operation against his father, an illegal alien who abandoned his son when approached.
Zena Stenvik, the Columbia Heights Public Schools superintendent, asked: Why detain a five-year-old? You can't tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.
In a post on X, ICE denied the child had been detained, claiming that A criminal illegal alien ABANDONED his child as he fled from ICE officers, and our officers ensured the child was kept SAFE in the bitter cold. The agency further stated, ICE made multiple attempts to get the family inside the house to take custody of the child, but they refused to accept custody. The father told officers he wanted the child to remain with him. DHS did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.
Photos provided to the BBC by the school district show Liam Ramos wearing a bunny-shaped winter hat, standing outside as an officer holds onto his backpack. The Columbia Heights Public Schools authority described these as bystander photos, referring to the individuals who took the pictures as known and confirmed community members.
Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, stated that Liam and his father were being held at a detention center in San Antonio, Texas, and that attorneys were trying to contact them. The lawyer confirmed that the family came to the US in 2024 from Ecuador to seek asylum, asserting that they were not evading ICE and were following established protocols.
School officials indicated that an agent had asked the child to knock on the door of the home to check if anyone else was there at the time of the arrest. Liam had just arrived home from pre-school. Another adult in the house offered to take care of him, but immigration officials refused to let him go.
School board member Mary Granlund reported being onsite and stated that she offered to take Liam, but he was still detained. The situation led to increased scrutiny, particularly amid ongoing protests against immigration policies.
US Vice-President JD Vance commented on the incident, reiterating that ICE's actions were compelled because the father ran from authorities, making the detainment a necessity to ensure security.
Stenvik highlighted that this incident is part of a larger pattern, noting that ICE had recently detained four students in the district, inducing trauma in the community. The ongoing enforcement initiative, dubbed Operation Metro Surge, has prompted widespread protests in Minneapolis and other cities across Minnesota.
