Daijiworld Media Network - Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Jan 23: A five-year-old boy was taken into immigration custody along with his father in Minnesota while returning home from preschool, triggering outrage among school authorities and community leaders. The incident marks the fourth case in recent weeks involving students from the Columbia Heights suburb being detained by federal immigration officials.
According to Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik, federal agents intercepted the child, identified as Liam Conejo Ramos, from a running vehicle in the family’s driveway on Tuesday afternoon. Stenvik alleged that officers asked the child to knock on the door of his home to check if others were inside, a move she described as “essentially using a 5-year-old as bait”.
The family, which arrived in the United States in 2024, has an active asylum application and had not been ordered to leave the country, Stenvik said. The child’s mother, who was inside the house at the time, did not open the door after being warned by the father, she added.
Questioning the action, Stenvik said, “Why detain a 5-year-old? You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”
However, the Department of Homeland Security rejected claims that the child was targeted. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was arresting the boy’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an Ecuadorian national who was allegedly in the US illegally. She claimed the father fled on foot, “abandoning his child”.
“For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,” McLaughlin said, adding that parents are given the option to be removed with their children or place them with someone of their choosing.
School officials and local leaders disputed this account. Stenvik said another adult living at the home was present, but agents refused to leave the child in their care. School board chair Mary Granlund said she offered to take responsibility for the child, while city council member Rachel James said neighbours even presented documents authorising them to care for the boy.
These offers were ignored, they alleged.
The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, confirmed that both father and son were taken to an immigration detention facility in Dilley, Texas. He said they believe the pair are being held together but have had no direct contact with them so far.
“We are exploring legal options and applying moral pressure to secure their release,” Prokosch said.
Vice President JD Vance, who met Minneapolis leaders on Thursday, said he had heard the “terrible story” but later learned the child was detained, not arrested. Defending enforcement actions, Vance said authorities could not simply leave a child unattended while arresting an undocumented immigrant.
Concerns have also been raised about conditions at the Dilley detention facility. Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at Children’s Rights, said families reported children being malnourished and seriously ill due to prolonged detention. She noted that many children have been held for over 100 days.
Columbia Heights Public Schools, which serves around 3,400 students, most from immigrant families, has seen attendance drop sharply amid fears of immigration raids. Stenvik said ICE agents have been seen circling schools, following buses and entering school parking lots, creating widespread anxiety.
Before Liam’s detention, a 17-year-old, a 10-year-old and another 17-year-old student were also taken in recent weeks, she said.
Liam’s teacher, Ella Sullivan, described him as “kind and loving”, adding, “His classmates miss him. All I want is for him to be safe and back here.”