U.S. 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 confirmed.
Pre-schooler Liam Ramos was with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, when agents approached them at their home. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated that while Conejo Arias was the target, they did not intentionally detain the child.
Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik questioned the decision to detain such a young child, stating, You can't tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal. The DHS claimed that Arias abandoned his child when confronted by agents.
ICE issued its own statement denying that the child had been detained, saying the father ran away, leaving the child behind. They asserted that the child was kept safe during the operation.
The family's lawyer, Marc Prokosch, revealed that both Liam and his father are currently being held at a detention center in San Antonio, Texas, and emphasized that they had followed all immigration protocols upon arriving in the U.S. from Ecuador in 2024.
Stenvik reported that there has been a recent increase in ICE activity in their community, causing significant fear and trauma among families. ICE’s actions have drawn widespread criticism, particularly following a recent incident in which a federal officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, leading to protests.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance justified ICE's actions, stating that they had no choice but to intervene when the father fled. As debates over immigration enforcement continue, this incident raises crucial questions about the treatment of vulnerable individuals amid strict immigration policies.
