ICE Detains Five-Year-Old and Father in Minnesota, Sparking Outrage

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is facing public backlash after a five-year-old boy and his father were detained during an enforcement operation in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, according to school officials and the family’s lawyer. The child, Liam Ramos, had just returned home from preschool when ICE approached his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, in their driveway. Photographs taken by community members show the young boy, wearing a bunny-shaped winter hat, standing outside as an ICE agent holds his backpack.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insisted on X that ICE did NOT target a child, claiming the father “abandoned” his son as he fled. The agency said officers kept the child safe in freezing temperatures and repeatedly attempted to return him to family inside the home. School officials and witnesses dispute that account. Superintendent Zena Stenvik questioned why a child was detained at all, saying, You can’t tell me this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.

The family’s attorney, Marc Prokosch, said both father and son are now being held at a detention facility in San Antonio, Texas, and that lawyers have struggled to contact them. He said the pair entered the U.S. legally in 2024 to seek asylum, followed all protocols, and were not evading ICE. According to school officials, another adult at the home offered to take the child inside, but ICE declined. A school board member on scene also volunteered to take the boy, but officers detained him anyway.

The incident comes amid intensified immigration enforcement in Minnesota under Operation Metro Surge, which DHS says targets the worst criminal illegal aliens. Local officials argue the crackdown is traumatizing families, with at least four students detained, including a 10-year-old and two 17-year-olds. The controversy follows the fatal January 7 shooting of Renee Good by a federal officer during a separate enforcement action, which triggered protests across Minneapolis and St. Paul.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance, visiting Minnesota during the uproar, defended ICE, asserting agents had no choice but to take custody of the child after the father “ran.” Critics say the DHS narrative contradicts eyewitness accounts and question whether the child was wrongfully treated as part of an enforcement action.

The political fallout widened Thursday as the U.S. House narrowly approved a $1.2 trillion government funding bill, including $10 billion for ICE, with seven Democrats joining Republicans. Supporters said they voted to fund broader DHS agencies like FEMA and TSA, not to back ICE’s recent actions.

Community leaders, school officials and immigrant advocates say the detention highlights deep concerns about enforcement tactics and the treatment of children during immigration operations, urging federal authorities to immediately release the boy and reassess protocols involving minors.