5-Year-Old Taken by ICE in Minnesota Now Held at Texas Facility

A 5-year-old who was taken by federal agents from his family's driveway in metro Minneapolis on Tuesday after returning from preschool is now being held with his father at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Texas.

Liam Conejo Ramos was removed from the family's running car, according to Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools. The boy and his family are originally from Ecuador and presented themselves to border officers in Texas in December 2024 to apply for asylum, the family's lawyer said.

"These are not illegal aliens," attorney Marc Prokosch said during a press conference Thursday evening. "They came properly. They came legally, and are pursuing a legal pathway."

What Happened in the Driveway

An adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let them take care of the child. They refused.

An agent "led him to the door and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home — essentially using a 5-year-old as bait," Stenvik said at a news conference Wednesday.

"ICE did not, and has never, 'used a child as bait.' The child was ABANDONED," the agency posted on X Thursday.

The Department of Homeland Security said the father was the intended target of the operation. The two were eventually taken into custody together. The boy's father doesn't appear to have a criminal record in Minnesota, according to Prokosch.

Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his young son are now being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

Conflicting Accounts

Federal officials said they took the boy after the father told officers he wanted the child to remain with him. The agency said officers "made multiple attempts to get the mother inside the house to take custody of her child. Officers even assured her that they would NOT take her into custody. She refused to accept custody of the child."

Liam's mother was "terrified" of the agents outside her door, Pastor Sergio Amezcua, who has been helping the mother, told CNN Thursday night.

"ICE agents were trying to use the baby to get her to come out of her house, but the neighbors … advised her not to do it," fearing she would be detained, Amezcua said. The mother is pregnant and also has a teenage son.

Mary Granlund, chair of the Columbia Heights Public School District school board, said she was on her way to pick up her kids when she saw agents taking the child. "I heard the commotion and saw the people," Granlund said, noting she heard onlookers saying, "What are you doing, don't take the child."

In a separate statement Thursday night, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, "During this situation, agitators swarmed the scene and began yelling and blowing horns, scaring the child."

The Official Line

In an earlier statement to CNN, DHS said ICE was conducting an operation to arrest the child's father when he "fled on foot — abandoning his child."

Vice President JD Vance addressed the situation during remarks in Minneapolis Thursday. "The father ran. So, the story is that ICE detained a 5-year-old. Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?"

DHS said the father was released into the U.S. under the Biden administration.

Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino said Thursday, "We conduct legal, ethical and moral law enforcement missions here in Minneapolis. I didn't detain a 5-year-old."

Prokosch pushed back. "They have done every single thing the right way that they were supposed to. The family is pursuing an asylum claim, which is lawful to do. It's just that now we have to do it with half of the family in Texas."

Other Students Taken

Ramos isn't the only case in the school district about seven miles north of Minneapolis. Three other students have also been taken by ICE.

Also on Tuesday, a 17-year-old Columbia Heights High School student on the way to school was taken by armed, masked agents. "No parents were present. The student was removed from their car and taken away," Stenvik said.

Last week, ICE agents entered the apartment of another 17-year-old high school student and her mother. Both were detained.

A 10-year-old fourth grader was taken by ICE agents on her way to school with her mother two weeks ago and now remains in a Texas detention center.

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