In brief
In an alarming incident, a 5-year-old boy named Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by federal agents in Minnesota alongside his father, who was wanted for immigration violations. The family, with an active asylum case, is facing significant distress as the boy's detention highlights concerns about the current immigration enforcement practices in the Twin Cities. School officials and advocates have condemned the action, expressing fear over the implications for the community's immigrant families.
A 5-year-old boy arriving home from preschool in Minnesota was taken by federal agents along with his father to a detention facility in Texas, making him the latest child caught up in the immigration enforcement surge that has riled the Twin Cities in recent weeks.
Federal agents took Liam Conejo Ramos from a running car while it was in the family’s driveway on Tuesday afternoon, according to Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik. They essentially used a 5-year-old as bait, she stated during a news conference. Stenvik noted that the family has an active asylum case and has not been ordered to leave the country.
Why detain a 5-year-old? she questioned. You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not target the child but was conducting an operation to arrest his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador and is undocumented. He reportedly fled on foot without taking his son.
For the child’s safety, an ICE officer remained with Liam while other agents apprehended Conejo Arias. DHS stated that parents can choose whether to be removed with their children or have them placed with someone else.
Stenvik stated that another adult at the home was present when the father and son were taken but that agents refused to leave Liam with that person. The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, indicated that Liam and his father are now being held in a family holding cell in Texas, calling the detention cruel since the family had been complying with the immigration process.
Minnesota has recently seen a rise in immigration enforcement activities. Approximately 3,000 people have been arrested in the past few weeks, according to U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, citing efforts to target serious offenders. Advocates for immigrant rights, however, have expressed doubts about the accuracy of government claims regarding detentions.
Liam is reportedly the fourth Columbia Heights Public Schools student detained by ICE in the last several weeks, with concerns over attendance drops as fears of deportations spread through the student community. His teacher described him as kind and loving, emphasizing that his classmates miss him and just want him to be safe and back in school.
