A five-year-old Minnesota boy was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while returning home from school, sparking outrage and raising serious questions about immigration enforcement tactics involving children.
A five-year-old Minnesota boy was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while returning home from school, sparking outrage and raising serious questions about immigration enforcement tactics involving children.
The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon, January 22, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. Five-year-old Liam Ramos had just arrived home from school with his father. According to the local school district superintendent, Zena Stenvik, the car was still running when ICE agents approached and took both the father and child into custody in their driveway.
Stenvik rushed to the scene after being notified but arrived too late—Liam and his father were already gone. What followed shocked the community. School officials allege that ICE agents used the five-year-old child to knock on the front door of his own home in an attempt to draw other occupants outside. Stenvik later described the act as “essentially using a five-year-old as bait.”
Another adult inside the home reportedly begged agents to allow them to take custody of Liam so the child would not be placed in detention. ICE refused.
Twenty minutes later, Liam’s older brother, a middle school student, arrived home to find the house empty. Two school principals, alerted to the situation, rushed over to provide support.
According to the family’s attorney, Marc Prokosch, the Ramos family is in the middle of an active asylum case. He stated that they entered the United States legally through a port of entry and submitted all required documentation. He emphasized that there was no deportation order against the family and that they were complying with all legal requirements.
“The family did everything they were supposed to do,” Prokosch said. “They did not come here illegally. They are not criminals.”
The school district later released two photographs that intensified public outrage. One image shows Liam wearing a blue knit hat, standing beside a masked ICE agent on the doorstep of his home. Another shows an adult holding the child’s backpack near a parked vehicle.
Superintendent Stenvik questioned the decision to detain a child so young, asking why a five-year-old would be treated as a security threat.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the operation in a public statement, insisting it was a targeted action focused on Liam’s father. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed ICE did not target the child and alleged that the father fled on foot, abandoning his son. She said an ICE officer remained with Liam while others pursued the father and added that parents are typically given the option to remain with their children or designate another caregiver.
The explanation did little to calm public anger.
Officials confirmed that Liam is one of four children from the Columbia Heights School District detained by ICE in just two weeks, as part of a broader federal enforcement surge in Minnesota.
Outrage continued to grow as political leaders, educators, faith groups, and community members spoke out. Former Vice President Kamala Harris condemned the incident on social media, writing that Liam “should be at home with his family, not used as bait by ICE and held in a detention center.”
Public reaction poured in online, with many expressing heartbreak and disbelief over the child’s treatment.
The emotional impact reached Liam’s classroom. His preschool teacher described him as a bright, curious student and said she desperately hoped he would return safely. School officials warned that the incident could cause lasting psychological harm, not only to Liam but also to his classmates.
During the arrest, Liam’s pregnant mother was inside the house. According to a local pastor assisting the family, neighbors warned her not to come outside out of fear she would also be detained. Terrified, she remained hidden inside with the couple’s teenage son while agents surrounded the home.
The incident has ignited a nationwide conversation about immigration enforcement practices and their impact on children. At the center of the debate is one five-year-old boy who should have come home from school and stayed there—but instead became the face of a policy now under intense scrutiny across the country.
His father ran and abandoned him in the cold. His family wouldn’t take him in. ICE acted for him.
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