U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained at least four children connected to a Minnesota school district, including a five-year-old preschool student, in a series of immigration enforcement actions that have drawn national scrutiny and sparked intense backlash from educators, local officials, and immigration advocates.
The detentions occurred in Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis, as part of a broader federal immigration crackdown that has deployed thousands of federal agents across the Twin Cities region. School leaders say the enforcement actions have traumatized students and families and disrupted trust between
immigrant communities and public institutions.
Five-Year-Old Taken After Returning From Preschool
According to Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik, the five-year-old child, identified as Liam Conejo Ramos, was detained along with his father after returning home from preschool earlier this week.
Stenvik said federal agents approached the family’s vehicle in their driveway and removed the child from the car. Witnesses and school officials reported that ICE officers then directed the child to knock on the front door of the family’s home in order to see whether other individuals were inside.
School officials described the tactic as deeply troubling and said it effectively involved a minor in a federal law enforcement operation.
“I can’t imagine what was going through this child’s mind,” Stenvik said during a news conference. “He was frozen with fear.”
Conflicting Accounts From ICE and School Officials
Federal authorities and school officials have offered sharply different versions of what happened.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE have stated that the five-year-old was not the target of the operation. According to ICE, agents were attempting to arrest the boy’s father, who they say is in the United States unlawfully.
ICE officials claim that when agents approached, the father fled the scene and left the child behind in a running vehicle. The agency says agents remained with the child to ensure his safety and attempted to reunite him with family members.
However, school officials, witnesses, and the family’s attorney dispute that account. They say the father did not abandon the child and that ICE refused offers from nearby adults to take custody of the boy while the situation was resolved.
The family’s lawyer has said the father and child are asylum applicants from Ecuador and that they have an active immigration case pending in the U.S. system. The attorney also said the family has no criminal history and entered the country through legal channels.
The boy and his father were later transferred to a family detention facility in Texas, where they remain in custody.
Three Additional Children Detained
In addition to the five-year-old, school officials confirmed that three other children from the same district were detained in separate ICE operations over recent weeks.
Those children include a 10-year-old and two teenagers, according to district officials. Superintendent Stenvik said ICE activity has occurred near school buses, parking lots, and residential areas where students live, heightening fear among families.
She said some parents are now afraid to send their children to school due to concerns that ICE agents could be present in or around school-related locations.
Broader Federal Enforcement Operation
The Minnesota detentions are part of a large-scale immigration enforcement surge in the Minneapolis–St. Paul area that has involved an estimated 3,000 federal officers.
The operation has been marked by widespread protests and rising tensions between federal authorities and local officials. The enforcement surge has also followed a fatal shooting earlier this month in which a U.S. citizen was killed during a separate ICE operation, further inflaming public outrage and drawing calls for investigations into federal tactics.
Local leaders, including elected officials and school administrators, have criticized the scope and intensity of the federal response, arguing that it is undermining public safety and destabilizing immigrant communities.
Vice President and Federal Response
Vice President JD Vance traveled to Minneapolis this week and publicly defended ICE agents, saying federal officers are
enforcing existing immigration laws and must make rapid decisions during operations.
Vance acknowledged that the detention of a young child is distressing but said agents were placed in a difficult situation. He echoed DHS claims that the child was not targeted and that ICE acted to protect the child after the father allegedly fled.
Minnesota officials and Democratic lawmakers have pushed back on that narrative, saying video and witness accounts contradict the federal government’s version of events.
Legal and Child Welfare Concerns
The involvement of minors in immigration enforcement actions raises significant legal and policy questions, particularly regarding federal standards for child welfare and protections for asylum-seeking families.
Immigration attorneys and civil rights organizations have called for independent investigations into whether ICE’s actions complied with internal guidelines and
federal child protection principles.
Advocates warn that exposure to law enforcement raids can cause lasting psychological trauma for children and disrupt their education and development.
While ICE maintains that it does not target children, critics argue that current enforcement practices frequently result in minors being caught up in operations against adults, with little transparency or consistent safeguards.
Ongoing Scrutiny and Community Impact
Community leaders in Columbia Heights and across the Twin Cities region are continuing to press for greater oversight and accountability from federal authorities.
School officials have said they are working with legal advocates and community organizations to support affected families and to ensure students feel safe attending school.
As federal enforcement operations continue, the Minnesota incidents are likely to remain a focal point in the national debate over immigration policy, enforcement tactics, and the treatment of children and families within the U.S. immigration system.
Looking to advance your legal career during a time of major shifts in immigration law and federal enforcement?
Explore thousands of verified attorney and legal professional job opportunities nationwide on LawCrossing. Stay ahead of legal trends, find exclusive legal openings, and take the next step in your legal career today.
