Washington, Jan 23: A 5-year-old boy has been arrested by federal immigration officers while returning home from pre-school in Minnesota. Photos of this have been circulating on social media, causing outrage.
5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers near his home in Minnesota.
The boy was arrested while returning home from school, and school officials have alleged that the boy was used as a hostage to arrest his father.
It has now been learned that the boy and his father have been kept in a center for illegal immigrants in Texas.
Photos of this incident have gone viral on social media, causing huge outrage. Many have criticized it as a violation of human rights.
Meanwhile, US Vice President J.D. Vance defended the actions of ICE officers, saying that being a parent does not exempt you from law enforcement.
Why was a 5-year-old child detained? Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zina Stanwick questioned how this child could be considered a criminal.
However, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin clarified that ICE officers did not hold the child hostage.
The boy’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is from Ecuador and has been in the US illegally since 2024. An attempt was made to arrest him. However, he fled on foot and abandoned the child. An officer stayed with the child for the child’s safety. The parents were given the option to leave the country with their children or leave them with someone of their choice.
But school officials and locals have disputed that claim. School board president Mary Granlund said officials refused to release the boy to another adult who was nearby.
City Councilwoman Rachel James also said neighbors were willing to take responsibility for the boy, but officials ignored them.
The boy and his father are being held in an immigration detention center in Texas. They have not yet been able to make direct contact with them. “We are trying to get them released through legal channels,” said the family’s attorney, Mark Prokosch.