US officers detain 5-year-old boy as Minnesota immigration raids continue

"Federal agents took the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, from a running car while it was in the family's driveway on Tuesday afternoon, Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said during a news conference on Wednesday. The officers then told the child to knock on the door to his home to see if other people were inside, essentially using a five-year-old as bait, Stenvik said."

"Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that ICE did NOT target a child. She said ICE was conducting an operation to arrest the child's father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who McLaughlin said is from Ecuador. For the child's safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias, McLaughlin said, adding that parents are given the choice to be removed with their children or have them placed with a person of their choosing."

"Liam is the fourth student from Columbia Heights Public Schools who has been detained by ICE in recent weeks, said Stenvik. A 17-year-old student was taken on Tuesday while heading to school, and a 10-year-old and a 17-year-old have also been taken, she said. The family's lawyer, Marc Prokosch, said on Thursday that Liam and his father were taken to an immigration lockup in Dilley, Texas, and that he assumes they were being held in a"

Federal agents detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos while he arrived home from preschool in Minnesota, removing him from a running car in the family driveway. Officers instructed the child to knock on the home’s door to check for other occupants, an action described as using a child as bait. The family has a pending asylum case and had not been ordered to leave the country. ICE maintains the operation targeted the father and that an officer stayed with the child for safety, and parents reportedly can choose removal with children or placement with a chosen person. Multiple students from the same district have been detained recently.

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