ICE Officers Reportedly Detain a 5-Year-Old Boy in Minnesota

Public school district officials in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, claim that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have taken four students from the Minneapolis suburb in recent weeks, including a 5-year-old boy heading home from school. According to the lawyer of the 5-year-old’s family, the child and his father were both taken to an ICE detention center in Texas.

Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, shared in a press conference on Jan. 21 that two students were taken the day prior, including a 17-year-old boy on his way to school. The adolescent was reportedly removed from his vehicle and taken away.

On Jan. 20, Federal officers took Liam Conejo Ramos from a running car while in the family’s driveway, according to Superintendent Stenvik. Agents proceeded to instruct the child to knock on his door to see if anyone else was home, “essentially using a 5-year-old as bait,” she suggested.

"Why detain a 5-year-old? You can't tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal," Superintendent Stenvik commented.

Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, the child’s father, who was also taken into custody, reportedly alerted the mother, who was inside the home, not to open the door.

Superintendent Stenvik also informed reporters that another adult present at the home and at the time of the event “begged” the officers to allow him to take care of the child, but the ICE agents did not permit it.

"We are asking to please reach out to your congressional representative to ask for an immediate and peaceful resolution to this occupation," Stenvik said. "Please help us and other schools to again be a safe place where all belong and all succeed."

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin responded in a statement that “ICE did NOT target a child.”

McLaughlin claimed that ICE was targeting Arias and that during the operation, Arias “fled on foot — abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child” as his father was arrested.