In a deeply troubling incident that has shocked a Minnesota community, a five-year-old boy was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Tuesday afternoon as he arrived home from school with his father. The arrest occurred in the driveway of their family home in Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis, with both father and son subsequently transported to a detention facility in Texas.
Using a Child as Bait: Superintendent's Disturbing Account
According to Zena Stenvik, Superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, the circumstances surrounding the detention of young Liam Ramos were particularly disturbing. Stenvik reported that when she arrived at the scene after learning of the arrests, she discovered that ICE agents had removed Liam from the family vehicle and directed him to knock on his own front door.
"An agent had taken Liam out of the car, led the boy to his front 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 five-year-old as bait," Stenvik stated during a press conference on Wednesday.
Family's Asylum Case and Community Response
The superintendent emphasized that the Ramos family has an active asylum case pending and no existing deportation order. Despite pleas from another adult present at the home to care for Liam and prevent his detention, ICE agents refused this request. Liam's older brother, a middle school student, returned home approximately twenty minutes later to find both his father and younger brother missing.
School officials from the district arrived at the home to offer support, with two principals joining the superintendent at the scene. Photographs released by the school district show Liam wearing a blue knit hat, standing outside his front door with a masked ICE agent beside him, and another image depicting the boy near a vehicle with a man holding his backpack.
Broader Pattern of Child Detentions Emerges
Liam Ramos represents the fourth child from the Columbia Heights school district to be detained by federal immigration agents during what officials describe as an enforcement surge over the past two weeks. The superintendent detailed several additional cases that have created widespread fear within the community.
Other recent incidents include:
- A seventeen-year-old student taken by "armed and masked agents" without parents present on Tuesday
- A seventeen-year-old high school girl and her mother detained on January 14th after ICE agents "pushed their way into an apartment"
- A ten-year-old fourth-grade student allegedly taken by ICE on January 6th while traveling to elementary school with her mother
Psychological Impact on Students and Families
The superintendent described the profound psychological toll these detentions have taken on the entire school community. "Our children are traumatized. The sense of safety in our community and around our schools is shaken," Stenvik explained in an interview following the press conference. "I can speak on behalf of all school staff when I say our hearts are shattered."
Some families are now choosing to keep their children home from school out of fear of encountering ICE agents, according to school officials. The superintendent reported that as staff prepared for Wednesday's press conference, an ICE vehicle drove onto the property of the district's high school and was instructed by administrators to leave.
School District's Expanded Role and Concerns
Stenvik expressed concern about the expanding role school officials must now play in supporting families navigating the immigration system. "Our role is to educate children during the school day. But now we're trying to help people navigate this legal system," she stated. "Our main priority is to keep children safe. They're children. They are not violent criminals. They are little kids."
Liam's teacher provided a statement describing the five-year-old as "a bright young student" who is "so kind and loving" and whose absence has deeply affected his classmates. "He comes into class every day and just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe," the teacher wrote.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE responded to inquiries about Liam's arrest or the other detentions reported by school officials. The father and son remain together in detention in Texas as the community grapples with the emotional aftermath of these events and the ongoing presence of immigration enforcement agents in their neighborhoods.
