ICE Detained 5-Year-Old In Minnesota, School Officials Say Child Was Used As ‘Bait’

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, MN — Federal immigration agents detained a 5-year-old Columbia Heights elementary student alongside his father this week and used the child as "bait" during the arrest, according to school officials and the family’s lawyer.

Superintendent Zena Stenvik said masked ICE agents apprehended Liam Conejo Ramos on Tuesday as he returned home from school with his father, MPR News reported. Stenvik said agents removed the child from a still-running vehicle and directed him to knock on the door of his home in an apparent attempt to draw out other family members.

“Why detain a 5-year-old? You can’t tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal,” Stenvik said, according to KARE 11.

Stenvik said Liam’s family has an active asylum case and no deportation orders, adding that she personally reviewed the family’s legal paperwork.

After the detention, Liam and his father were taken by federal agents to Texas, Stenvik said.

Marc Prokosch, an attorney for the family, told MPR News he believes the father and child are being held in a family detention facility in Texas. He said the family has complied with all legal requirements while pursuing asylum.

“Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s moral,” Prokosch said.

Liam’s teacher, Ella Sullivan, became emotional while speaking about his detention.

“He’s a bright young student, and he’s so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him,” Sullivan said.

School officials said three other students in the district have also been detained by ICE in recent weeks.

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