5-year-old asylum seeker detained as ICE expands enforcement in Minnesota
A 5-year-old boy was taken into custody with his father by ICE agentsin Minnesota on Tuesday in what some local officials say is the latest instance of heightened federal immigration enforcement in the state.
The family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained on Tuesday as part of the federal government's ongoing immigration crackdown, has a pending asylum case but no order of deportation directing that they be removed from the United States, officials at Conejo Ramos' school said in a statement.
The 5-year-old was apprehended by immigration officials shortly after arriving home from preschool while his father was in their driveway, officials said.
"Another adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let them take care of the small child, but was refused," officials from Conejo Ramos' school said. "Instead, the agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock -- asking to be let in to see if anyone else was home -- essentially using a 5-year-old as bait."
The father and child are both government custody, school officials said.
Vice President JD Vance, visiting Minneapolis on Thursday, was asked about the case of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos who was detained Tuesdayafter arriving home from preschool while his father was in their driveway. The Minneapolis boy has a pending asylum case and no order of deportation, according to officials at the boy's school.
The father and child are both in government custody, school officials and the father's attorney said.
Vance said he had heard about the story before arriving in Minneapolis and felt for the child, but said he did "follow-up research" and alleged that the boy's undocumented father fled when federal agents were trying to arrest him.
"If the argument is that you can't arrest people who have violated the clause because they have children then every single parent is going to be completely given immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement," he said. "That doesn't make any sense. No one thinks that makes any sense."
Marc Prokosch, an attorney representing the boy's father, pushed back against Vance's claims that they were undocumented in a news conference on Thursday.
"Liam and his dad did enter the United States at a port of entry to seek asylum through the CBP One app," he explained.
"They came to the border and presented themselves to Customs and Border Protection. They were just trying to secure safety from persecution for their family from their home country," Prokosch stressing the father and son "came properly."
In a statement, a spokesperson for Homeland Security said, "ICE did NOT target a child. The child was ABANDONED."
"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 spokesperson said.
"Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration's immigration enforcement," the DHS statement said.
Vance's comments come just weeks after he said Good, a mother of three was shot by an ICE agent on Jan. 7, brought the tragedy on herself. Vance and DHS have alleged Good was attempting to run over the ICE officer when he fatally shot her.
Local officials have disputed this claim, citing video of the incident.
"So, the tragedy is multilayered," Vance said Thursday. "The tragedy is that there was a misunderstanding, the tragedy is that Renee Good lost her life. The tragedy is that you have I.C.E. officers who are going into communities where they are worried if they call 911, no one is going to come to help them," he alleged. "That is what produces this terrible situation and it's something state and local officials here in Minnesota can solve."
School officials said that three other students from their district have been recently detained by immigration authorities.
According to the officials, two weeks ago, a 10-year-old fourth grader was detained by ICE agents on her way to elementary school with her mother. During the arrest, officials said, the child called her father to tell him the ICE agents were bringing her to school.
"The father immediately came to the school to find that both his daughter and wife had been taken," officials said. "By the end of the school day, they were already in a detention center in Texas, and they are still there."
On Wednesday, a 17-year-old high school student was detained by "armed and masked agents," school officials said.
"Our children should not be afraid to come to school or wait at the bus stop," Board Chair Mary Granlund said in a statement. "Their families should not be afraid to drop off or pick up their children from school."
