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, stating, 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 maintained that multiple attempts were made to reunite the child with family inside the house, but were unsuccessful.
Photos provided by the school district show young Liam standing outside with an officer holding onto his backpack. Marc Prokosch, a lawyer for the family, revealed that they had recently arrived in the U.S. from Ecuador seeking asylum.
School officials report increased ICE activity in their district, with several students recently detained. The DHS claims its operations focus on individuals posing serious threats, amid growing protests against immigration enforcement.
Additionally, a tragic incident where a federal officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis has heightened tensions surrounding the ongoing operations.
As legislative discussions continue regarding immigration funding, community leaders and advocates are stressing the need for humane treatment of families within immigration policies.
