ICE detains 5-year-old Liam Ramos during Minnesota operation

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials detained a 5-year-old boy during an enforcement operation Tuesday as part of the state’s immigration crackdown, Minnesota school officials said.

Preschooler Liam Ramos was with his father — identified by DHS as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias — when agents approached Conejo Arias in his driveway.

exist Statement posted on XThe Department of Homeland Security said “ICE was not targeting children,” but was operating against his father, an “illegal alien” who “abandoned” his son during contact.

Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik asked, “Why would a 5-year-old be detained?

“You can’t tell me that this kid would be classified as a violent criminal.”

Photos provided to the BBC by the school district show a boy named Liam Ramos wearing a bunny-shaped winter hat standing outside as an officer clutches his backpack.

Columbia Heights Public Schools authorities described the photos as bystander photos. The district did not identify the people who took the photos, calling them “known and identified community members.”

Mark Prokosh, an attorney representing the family, told reporters that Liam and his father are likely being held at a detention center in Texas. School officials said the father had an active asylum case and no deportation order.

Stanwick said at a news conference Wednesday that his son had just returned home from preschool when he was arrested.

School officials were at Ramos’ home around the time of the incident to provide support, according to school officials.

Stanwick said ICE recently detained a total of four students in her school district, including a 10-year-old and two 17-year-olds.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to the BBC’s request for comment on the incident.

The Department of Homeland Security described the arrests as a “targeted operation” in a post on X. It added: “For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while other officers arrested Cornejo Arias.

“Parents will be asked if they wish to be deported with their children, otherwise ICE will place the children with a parent-designated safety officer. This is consistent with immigration enforcement by past administrations.”

According to Stanwick, another adult living in the home did ask to take the little boy inside but was refused. It’s unclear why.

School officials claimed that an agent asked the child to knock on the door of the home to see if anyone else was there.

“Our children should not be afraid to go to school or wait at a bus stop,” Columbia Heights Public Schools Board of Education President Mary Granlund said in a statement.

“Their families shouldn’t have to fear picking up their children from school.”

The Department of Homeland Security has previously said it is arresting “the most serious illegal alien criminals” to restore public safety in Minnesota.

At a Department of Homeland Security news conference on Tuesday, U.S. Border Patrol’s Gregory Bovino discussed the broader operation, saying: “Our operations are lawful, targeted, and focused on individuals who pose a serious threat to this community.”

The mission, known as Operation Metro Surge, sparked outcry from residents of Minneapolis, St. Paul and other cities across the state.

A federal officer shot and killed a woman named Renee Good in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, sparking nationwide protests and condemnation from local and state officials.