 "ICE detains 5-year-old boy in Minnesota, DHS says operation targeted his father")
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained a five-year-old boy during one of its operations in Minnesota, the child’s school officials and the family’s lawyer have said.
Liam Ramos, a preschooler, was with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, when ICE agents approached the duo earlier this week.
In a statement on X, the Department of Homeland Security said, “ICE did NOT target a child,” and that the operation was directed against his father, an “illegal alien” who “abandoned” his son when approached.
The Republican administration has deployed about 3,000 officers around Minnesota’s largest city, where residents have been on edge since an immigration officer shot and killed a U.S. citizen this month. Democrats and local leaders have accused federal agents of aggressive and unnecessary tactics that have left many immigrant communities afraid.
What happened?
Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, said that Liam and his father are being held at a detention centre in San Antonio, Texas, and that their attorneys are trying to get in touch with them.
The lawyer said that the boy and his father had come to the US in 2024 from Ecuador to seek asylum. “This family was not eluding ICE in any way. They were following all the established protocols.”
According to Superintendent Stenvik, the incident began just as the boy arrived home from preschool. School officials alleged that an agent instructed the child to knock on his own front door to check for other occupants. Despite another adult in the home asking to take the boy inside, the agent reportedly refused the request.
What has ICE said?
The Department of Homeland Security said that Liam’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was in the country illegally but did not provide details or mention any criminal history.
Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said parents targeted in ICE operations are asked if they want their children taken with them or have them placed with a person designated by the parents.
Quick Reads
View All“ICE did NOT target a child,” she said, adding that Conejo Arias fled the scene as agents approached, leaving his child behind.
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