“Horrific”: ICE detained 5-year-old to use as “bait” to ensnare family seeking asylum

A Minneapolis-area school district says ICE officers have detained four of its students in the last two weeks, including a 5-year-old boy who was reportedly used as “bait” to get family members to surrender to ICE.

Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said that ICE officers apprehended 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos at his home in Minneapolis as he was returning from school. His father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was also apprehended.

“Why detain a 5-year-old? You can’t tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal,” Stenvik told reporters on Wednesday.

“Another adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let him take care of the small child, and was refused,” Stenvik said. “Instead, the agent took the child out of the still-running car, led him to the door and directed him to knock on the door asking to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home, essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.”

The Department of Homeland Security claimed the child was “abandoned” after his father fled ICE officers on foot.

“For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,” the DHS said in a statement.

Stenvik said the family has an “active asylum case,” and has not received deportation orders. Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing Ramos’ family, said that Liam and his father were  moved to a family holding cell, though he could not confirm their location.

“Every step of their immigration process has been doing what they’ve been asked to do, and so this is just … cruelty,” Prokosch told MPR.

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The incident drew fierce criticism from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who said that Minnesotans desired “safety,” “freedom” and “what’s best for our kids.”

“Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes,” Walz wrote in a post to X.

Minnesotans want safety. They want freedom. They want what’s best for our kids.

Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes.

This campaign of retribution has got to stop.https://t.co/DYXvNF0SKa

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) January 22, 2026

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said the move by ICE was “horrific,” and called the ICE officers “monsters.” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called the situation “absolutely disgraceful.”

“How can anyone justify this any more [sic]?” Klobuchar wrote.

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