US Immigration Agents Detain 5-Year-Old in Minnesota as DHS Denies Targeting Child
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents briefly detained a five-year-old boy during an immigration operation in Minnesota, sparking public outrage and political condemnation, according to media reports.
The child, identified by school officials as Liam Conejo Ramos, was taken from the driveway of his family’s suburban Minneapolis home on Tuesday after returning from preschool. He was later transported with his father to an immigration detention facility in Texas.
At a news conference, officials of the Columbia Heights School District said the boy was removed from the family’s car in front of their home by ICE agents. Superintendent Zena Stenvik said another adult in the household pleaded with officers to allow them care for the child but was refused.
Stenvik further alleged that agents used the child to determine whether other adults were inside the home. “They led him to the door and directed him to knock, essentially using a five-year-old as bait,” she said, questioning the justification for detaining a minor. “You can’t tell me this child is a violent criminal.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rejected claims that the child was deliberately targeted. In a statement posted on social media platform X, DHS said: “ICE did NOT target a child. The child was ABANDONED.”
According to DHS, the boy’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an Ecuadorian national, was the subject of the immigration operation. Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the father fled on foot during the arrest attempt, leaving the child behind.
“For the child’s safety, one ICE officer stayed with him while others apprehended the father,” McLaughlin said.
US Vice President JD Vance also weighed in during a visit to Minneapolis, defending the agents’ actions. “The father ran. So what are they supposed to do — leave a five-year-old to freeze?” Vance said, adding that authorities still had a duty to arrest undocumented immigrants.
Minnesota Democrats have strongly condemned the incident. Representative Ilhan Omar described the detention as unacceptable, saying, “ICE just detained a five-year-old child. Don’t tell us this is about ‘the worst of the worst.’ That’s a lie. Absolutely vile.”
School officials disclosed that the boy’s case was not isolated. They said three other students were detained by federal agents in the Minneapolis area on the same day, including a 17-year-old high school student taken while en route to school. Stenvik also revealed that a 10-year-old fourth-grade student was detained with her mother two weeks earlier and remains in a Texas detention facility.
