According to a report from a high school superintendent and other school officials, a 5-year-old boy was taken from a running car by ICE agents and “used as bait” to tempt his father, a man with a legal right to be in the country, out of his house, before putting them both in an immigration lockup indefinitely.
Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old student of Columbia Heights Public School, Minnesota, was in the driveway of his family’s home when ICE agents took him from the car. They walked him to his front door, where, according to the superintendent, they told the child to knock on the door and ask if anyone was inside.
Allegedly, his father told the boy’s mother not to open the door. However, eventually, the man was detained, and he, along with the 5-year-old boy, was taken to an immigration lockup in Dilley, Texas. Marc Prokosch, the family lawyer, says they are in a family holding cell, but are unable to be contacted.
The family is currently in the US legally, with every right to stay. They have been in the process of claiming asylum since 2024. However, the father and child now have to wait in an immigration holding facility until the system decides what to do with them.
The conditions in the lockup, which houses many families, are reportedly appalling. A visit by Leecia Welch, the chief legal counsel at Children’s Rights, left her shocked at the conditions.
“Nearly every child we spoke to was sick — and it seemed there was an epidemic of illnesses going around. Families reported that their children were malnourished, extremely ill, and suffering profoundly from prolonged detention.”
Speaking on the incident, Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, stated that the man asked for his child to stay with him. According to their protocol, when a parent is arrested, they are given the option to bring their children with them or leave them with another responsible adult.
However, Superintendent Zena Stenvik insists that others offered to take the child, including a family member and a neighbor. Rachel James, a local, said they saw their neighbor inform the ICE agents she had papers permitting her to take care of the child. She was, allegedly, ignored.
In response, JD Vance addressed the country on the arrest and detention of the five-year-old boy. He didn’t comment on the fact that the child wasn’t left with another parent, and instead spoke about his father being a person without legal status, despite being in the country legally.
“Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?”
The situation has become very public, and the family’s lawyer is working hard to find out the location of the man and his child.
