A five-year-old boy was taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as he returned home from school in Minnesota, according to school officials. Liam Ramos and his father were detained in their driveway in Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis, on Tuesday.
Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the school district, said an agent took Liam from the car and directed him to knock on the front door “to see if anyone else was home – essentially using a five-year-old as bait”. She added that another adult in the home pleaded to care for the boy but was refused. Liam’s older brother, a middle schooler, returned home 20 minutes later to find them missing.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended the operation, stating that Liam’s father, described as an “illegal alien”, was the target and had fled on foot, allegedly abandoning his child. “ICE did NOT target a child,” said Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary. She added that officers remained with the boy while apprehending his father.
Attorney Marc Prokosch, representing the family, said they had an active asylum case and arrived at a legal port of entry. “They did not come here illegally. They are not criminals,” he said, adding that there was no deportation order. Prokosch warned of secondary trauma to the community.
School officials reported three other student detentions in the past two weeks, including a 17-year-old seized from a car and a 10-year-old taken on her way to school. Liam’s teacher described him as a “bright, kind, and loving” student, expressing shock at his detention.
