US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a five-year-old boy in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, on Tuesday as he returned home from school, transporting him and his father to a Texas detention centre, according to school officials. The superintendent of the school district, Zena Stenvik, said at a press conference that Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody in their driveway.
Stenvik stated that an ICE agent led Liam to his front door and directed him to knock, asking to be let in, 'in order to see if anyone else was home – essentially using a five-year-old as bait'. Another adult in the home pleaded to care for Liam but was denied. Liam's older brother arrived 20 minutes later to find them missing.
Marc Prokosch, the family's attorney, said the family had an active asylum case and had entered the US at a port of entry. 'They did everything they were supposed to,' he said, adding there was no deportation order. He believes father and son remain together in detention.
Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary, said ICE was conducting a 'targeted operation' to arrest Liam's father, whom she called an 'illegal alien'. She alleged the father fled on foot, abandoning his child, and that an officer stayed with the boy for safety. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, she added.
Liam's teacher described him as 'a bright young student' who 'brightens the room'. The superintendent noted three other student detentions in the district in recent weeks, including a 17-year-old taken from a car and a 10-year-old taken on her way to school.
