US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained five-year-old Liam Ramos in Minnesota on Tuesday as he returned home from school, and at least three other kids from the same school district this month. Liam is obviously not a violent criminal, a rhetoric that the Trump administration has used to justify the presence of ICE agents.
“Why detain a 5-year-old?” Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public Schools district, said at a news conference, according to The Washington Post. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”
Via The Guardian:
Liam and his father had just arrived home when they were detained, according to Zena Stenvik, the superintendent, who said she drove to the home when she learned of the detentions.
When she arrived, Stenvik said the father’s car was still running, and the father and son had already been apprehended. An agent had taken Liam out of the car, led the boy to his front doo,r 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 five-year-old as bait”, the superintendent said in a statement.
Stenvik said another adult living in the home was outside during the encounter and had pleaded to take care of Liam so the boy could avoid detention, but was denied. Liam’s older brother, a middle schooler, came home 20 minutes later to find his father and brother missing, Stenvik said. Two school principals from the district also arrived at the home to offer support.
Imagine that. A family member begged to take care of Liam, but ICE agents just thought they'd detain the preschooler anyway.
Marc Prokosch, an attorney representing the family, said the family had an active asylum case and shared paperwork showing the father and son had arrived to the US at a port of entry, meaning an official crossing point.
“The family did everything they were supposed to in accordance with how the rules have been set out,” he said. “They did not come here illegally. They are not criminals.” He said there was no order of deportation against them and he believes the father and son have remained together in detention.
Department of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin insisted in a statement that ICE was conducting a “targeted operation” to arrest Liam’s father, whom she called an “illegal alien," even though the family is not here illegally. “ICE did NOT target a child,” she claimed.
Further, McLaughlin also alleged the father “fled on foot – abandoning his child”, saying, “For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended [his father].
“Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates,” she added.
Yeah, sure, Trish. I can call you Trish, right? I'm pretty sure a child feels safer at home than in a Texas detention facility.
The school district provided a statement from Liam’s teacher, who expressed shock over the boy’s detention: “Liam is a bright young student. He is so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He comes into class every day and just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe.”
This week, McLaughlin inadequately tried to explain after a backlash to why ICE officers grabbed a U.S. citizen while he was showering and forced him outside into the cold in just his underwear.
Tensions in Minnesota are at a tipping point.
ICE detains 4 Columbia Heights students, including 5- and 10-year-olds sent to Texas
"Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old child, was apprehended with his father while in their driveway, just having arrived home from this Preschool classroom."https://t.co/Us0ljf8skQ pic.twitter.com/fr7TQifjAd— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 22, 2026
ICE needs to be dismantled. The Trump administration wants us to be despondent, feeling that we can't do anything as we watch this horror show unfold. One thing I've learned about the people in Minnesota is that they'll keep rising no matter what. We need to all be like them.
