U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a 5-year-old boy during an immigration enforcement operation Tuesday, Minnesota school officials and the family’s attorney said.
Liam Ramos, a preschooler, was with his father – named Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – when Conejo Arias was approached by agents in his driveway.
In a statement published onDHS 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, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, asked, “Why detain a 5-year-old?
“You can’t tell me this kid is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”
Photos provided to the BBC by the school district show a boy, identified as Liam Ramos, wearing a rabbit-shaped winter hat, standing outside while an officer holds on to his backpack.
The Columbia Heights Public Schools Authority described the photos as bystander photos. The district did not identify the individuals who took the photos, calling them “known and verified members of the community.”
Marc Prokosch, an attorney representing the family, said at a news conference Wednesday that Liam and his father were being held at a detention center in San Antonio, Texas, and that attorneys were trying to contact them.
Prokosch said the boy and his father came to the United States in 2024 from Ecuador to seek asylum.
“This family was in no way escaping ICE,” he said. “They were following all established protocols.”
In a post on X, ICE denied that the child had been detained.
“A criminal illegal alien ABANDONED his child while fleeing from ICE agents, and our agents ensured the child remained safe in the freezing cold,” the agency said.
“ICE made several attempts to get the family to return to the home and take custody of the child.
“They refused to accept custody of the child. The father told the police he wanted the child to stay with him.”
DHS did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment on the incident.
School officials said an officer asked the child to knock on the door of the house to see if anyone else was there.
The boy had just returned from preschool at the time of his arrest, Stenvik said at the news conference.
She said another adult living in the home asked to take the young boy inside, but was refused.
School board member Mary Granlund said she was at the scene and told immigration officers she could take Liam Ramos, but they detained him anyway.
US Vice President JD Vance, who visited Minnesota on Thursday amid protests against immigration measures, told reporters that ICE arrested the child because “the father ran away.”
“What are they supposed to do?” he said of ICE agents. “Are they supposed to let a 5 year old child freeze to death?
“Aren’t they supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?”
Stenvik said ICE recently arrested a total of four students in his school district, including one 10-year-old and two 17-year-olds.
“The onslaught of ICE activity in our community is causing trauma,” Stenvik said at a news conference Thursday.
DHS says it is arresting “the worst of the worst illegal alien criminals” in an effort to restore public safety in Minnesota.
At a DHS press conference Tuesday, Gregory Bovino of the U.S. Border Patrol discussed the operation as a whole and said, “Our operations are lawful, are targeted, and focus on individuals who pose a serious threat to this community.” »
The mission, called Operation Metro Surge, sparked outcry from residents of Minneapolis, St. Paul and other cities across the state.
On January 7, a federal officer shot and killed a woman named Renee Good in Minneapolis, sparking protests and condemnation from local and state authorities.
The Trump administration alleged that the 37-year-old woman used her vehicle as a weapon and that the officer acted in self-defense.
Also on Thursday, seven Democrats in the US House of Representatives crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans to narrowly pass $1.2 billion (£900 billion) in government funding, including money for ICE.
The measure — which would allocate $64.4 billion to DHS, including $10 billion to ICE — was approved 220-207.
Democrats who voted for it said they did so to fund the Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, both under DHS.
