The family lawyer said he is working to bring the 5-year-old back to relatives in Minnesota after ICE agents took him away.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded to online backlash after ICE agents detained a 5-year-old in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The Columbia Heights School District stated Wednesday that ICE agents have detained four of its students, including preschool student Liam Ramos.
“Why detain a 5-year-old? You can’t tell me this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal,” Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said. “ICE agents have been roaming our neighborhoods, circling our schools, following our buses, coming into our parking lots and taking our children.”
In a statement on X Thursday, the DHS said agents detained the 5-year-old because the child was “abandoned.” Agents were reportedly on an operation to detain the boy’s family member.
“As agents approached the driver Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, fled on foot—abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,” the DHS stated.
The family’s immigration lawyer, Marc Prokosch, says Liam and his father are not in Minnesota anymore and are likely being held at a detention facility in Texas. He is working to bring Liam back to Minnesota to stay with family as the legal battle plays out.
“The family is pursuing an asylum plan, which is lawful to do,” Prokosch said.
As of Thursday, Conejo Arias is at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas. Five-year-old Liam Ramos is not in ICE’s detainee locator system.