A widely shared photo of a five-year-old boy being briefly detained by US immigration agents in Minnesota has triggered outrage and renewed scrutiny of ICE tactics. Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken into custody alongside his father during an ICE operation in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, after agents approached them in their driveway as they returned from preschool.
The school district’s superintendent, Zena Stenvik, said Liam is one of four children detained by ICE in the area in two weeks and accused agents of using the child as “bait” by having him knock on his own front door to check who was inside. Photos taken by school staff show a visibly frightened Liam standing by a car with his backpack and later at his front door with a masked agent behind him, images that quickly went viral and sparked condemnation from officials and commentators.
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan denounced the incident, while critics questioned why ICE took the boy despite an adult at the home offering to care for him, citing agency policy that minors should not be transported unless they themselves are the target. ICE insisted it was a targeted arrest of the father, described as an undocumented Ecuadorian national, and said officers stayed with the child for his safety while others pursued the father.
The family’s lawyer says the pair, who had applied for asylum at a legal port of entry and face no deportation order, are believed to be held in a Texas detention facility, as the case unfolds amid mounting anger over ICE conduct in Minnesota following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an agent earlier this month.
