Minnesota Schoolboy Used as Bait in Controversial ICE Operation
Federal immigration agents have sparked outrage after detaining a five-year-old Minnesota schoolboy and allegedly using him as bait to lure adults from his family home. This incident has raised serious concerns among school officials about how children are becoming entangled in aggressive enforcement operations conducted near educational institutions.
Details of the Disturbing Incident
Columbia Heights Public Schools superintendent Zena Stenvik revealed that masked ICE agents detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos on Tuesday as he arrived home from school with his father. According to Stenvik, the agents removed the child from the still-running vehicle and instructed him to knock on his home's door to check if anyone else was inside.
"Why detain a 5-year-old? You can't tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal," Stenvik told reporters during a Wednesday press conference. She described how another adult at the home pleaded with agents to let him care for the child, but was refused.
The superintendent provided a chilling account of the events: "The agent took the child out of the still-running car, led him to the 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 5-year-old as bait."
Political Reaction and Family Detention
Congressman Jimmy Gomez condemned the operation, stating: "ICE just used a 5-year-old boy as bait, forcing him to knock on his own door so they could arrest his father. Trump, ICE and CBP don't see these families as people, and that's exactly how they're treating them."
Both Liam and his father were taken into custody and subsequently transferred to Texas. Stenvik confirmed that the family has an active asylum case with no deportation orders, stating: "I have viewed the legal paperwork with my own eyes."
Marc Prokosch, the family's attorney, expressed uncertainty about their exact location but believed they were being held in a family detention facility in Texas. He noted that while the detention is likely legal, it complicates their legal situation significantly.
Broader Impact on School Communities
District officials revealed that Liam is not an isolated case. Over the past two weeks, three other students under 18 have been detained in separate incidents. One involved a 10-year-old girl taken with her mother while traveling to school. "By the end of the school day, they were already in a detention center in Texas," Stenvik reported.
The superintendent described an alarming pattern: "ICE agents have been roaming our neighborhoods, circling our schools, following our buses, coming into our parking lots and taking our children."
The psychological impact has been immediate and severe. Nearly one-third of students in the district have stayed home out of fear, with several districts reporting absentee rates reaching 40 percent. Minneapolis and St. Paul schools have cancelled classes to prepare for large-scale virtual learning implementation.
Homeland Security's Response
The Department of Homeland Security denied targeting any child, claiming the boy was initially abandoned. In a social media post, the agency stated: "On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an illegal alien from Ecuador who was RELEASED into the U.S. by the Biden administration."
DHS provided an alternative narrative: "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 federal agency was responding to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who had characterized the incident as "the worst of the worst" in immigration enforcement practices.
Legal and Humanitarian Implications
This incident highlights several critical issues:
- The use of children in law enforcement operations raises serious ethical questions
- The psychological trauma inflicted on young students witnessing or experiencing such events
- The disruption of educational environments by immigration enforcement activities
- The conflicting narratives between school officials and federal agencies
- The broader impact on immigrant communities and their trust in public institutions
As the situation develops, school districts across Minnesota are implementing emergency protocols to protect students while balancing their educational responsibilities. The incident has reignited debates about immigration enforcement practices near schools and the treatment of children in such operations.
