The detention of Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old Ecuadorian boy, with his father outside their home in Minnesota has become a flashpoint in the immigration crackdown under the Donald Trump administration in the US. With many people outraged over the boy’s detention, thousands marched through the streets of Minneapolis, and a number of businesses shut their doors to protest against the immigration crackdown.
Images of the pre-schooler being held by immigration officers who were trying to arrest his father have sparked public anger over the federal crackdown.
Neighbours and school officials said that federal immigration officers used the pre-schooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door of his house so that his mother would answer.
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Trump officials on Ramos’ detention
The department of homeland security called the account of events an “abject lie”. It said the father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, ran away on foot and left the boy in a running car in their driveway.
Trump officials said the father was in the US illegally, without giving further details. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said he entered illegally in December 2024, the Associated Press reported.
{{/usCountry}}Trump officials said the father was in the US illegally, without giving further details. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said he entered illegally in December 2024, the Associated Press reported.
{{/usCountry}}The family’s lawyer said he had an asylum claim under review that allowed him to remain in the country.
Both of these claims could be correct. The government may have moved to deport him after deciding he entered illegally, while he may have used his legal right to seek asylum, which would pause his removal until a judge rules on the case.
An online court summary showed the case was filed on December 17, 2024, and has been placed with the immigration court inside the Dilley detention centre, the report said.
School officials vs ICE agents
Columbia Heights Public Schools superintendent Zena Stenvik told reporters that the officers asked the boy to knock on the door of his home to check if other people were inside, “essentially using a five-year-old as bait”, she said.
School officials said the agents did not allow Liam to stay with other adults.
“Why detain a five-year-old?” the superintendent asked. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”
Meanwhile, homeland security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin rejected Stenvik’s claims. “ICE did NOT target or arrest a child or use a child as ‘bait,’” she said, adding, “Officers even assured her she would NOT be taken into custody.”
The officers, she said, “abided by the father’s wishes to keep the child with him”.
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Where are the father and son now?
They are at a family detention centre in Dilley, Texas, where families have reported that children are underfed, unwell and affected by long periods of detention, according to the report.
Conditions there are worse than ever, Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at Children’s Rights, who visited the facility last week, was quoted as saying by AP.
Trump administration’s policy on detaining children
The Trump administration last July issued a “Detained Parents Directive”, clarifying that if minor children are found during ICE enforcement actions, ICE “should under no circumstances take custody of children or transport them”. The directive includes exemptions for cases where people could lose their immigration status.
The directive says that ICE should allow parents and guardians to make other care arrangements for the children before their detention.
With inputs from agencies