A US Border Patrol agent allegedly uses a 5-year-old boy as "bait" to lure his family into surrendering, sparking widespread outrage. In a disturbing incident, four students from the Columbia Heights Public Schools district were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the past two weeks, including Liam Conejo Ramos, who was taken into custody at his Minneapolis home after school.
According to Superintendent Zena Stenvik of the school district, ICE agents arrested Ramos' father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, while leaving his son alone on the sidewalk. "Why detain a 5-year-old? You can't tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal," Stenvik said in an emotional statement.
Stenvik claimed that an ICE officer refused to let another adult living in the home take care of the young boy, instead leading him out of his car and asking him to knock on the door to see if anyone else was present. "This is essentially using a 5-year-old as bait," she said.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that Ramos' father had fled from ICE officers on foot after refusing to surrender, leading to the child's detention. However, Stenvik disputed this account, saying that her family has an active asylum case and has not received deportation orders.
Lawyer Marc Prokosch stated that Liam and his father were moved to a family holding cell but couldn't confirm their location. "Every step of their immigration process has been doing what they've been asked to do, and so this is just...cruelty," he said in response to the incident.
The incident has drawn widespread criticism from Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz, who condemned ICE's actions as a threat to public safety. "Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes," Walz wrote on social media.
Senator Amy Klobuchar also expressed outrage, calling the situation "absolutely disgraceful" and demanding an explanation for how such behavior can be justified. Representative Pramila Jayapal described ICE's actions as "horrific" and referred to the agents involved as "monsters."
According to Superintendent Zena Stenvik of the school district, ICE agents arrested Ramos' father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, while leaving his son alone on the sidewalk. "Why detain a 5-year-old? You can't tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal," Stenvik said in an emotional statement.
Stenvik claimed that an ICE officer refused to let another adult living in the home take care of the young boy, instead leading him out of his car and asking him to knock on the door to see if anyone else was present. "This is essentially using a 5-year-old as bait," she said.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed that Ramos' father had fled from ICE officers on foot after refusing to surrender, leading to the child's detention. However, Stenvik disputed this account, saying that her family has an active asylum case and has not received deportation orders.
Lawyer Marc Prokosch stated that Liam and his father were moved to a family holding cell but couldn't confirm their location. "Every step of their immigration process has been doing what they've been asked to do, and so this is just...cruelty," he said in response to the incident.
The incident has drawn widespread criticism from Minnesota officials, including Governor Tim Walz, who condemned ICE's actions as a threat to public safety. "Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes," Walz wrote on social media.
Senator Amy Klobuchar also expressed outrage, calling the situation "absolutely disgraceful" and demanding an explanation for how such behavior can be justified. Representative Pramila Jayapal described ICE's actions as "horrific" and referred to the agents involved as "monsters."
. Using a 5-year-old as bait? That's just heartbreaking 
. It's like, I get it, immigration laws are complex, but using a child as leverage? That's just wrong. I don't care what the dad did or didn't do, the fact is that a tiny human was put in harm's way for someone else's purposes 
. And to make matters worse, the ICE officer refused to let another adult take care of him? That's just cruel. We need to hold our law enforcement accountable for their actions and make sure this kind of thing never happens again 
.
...I mean, I get that we gotta deal with border issues and all, but using a 5-year-old kid like bait? That's just plain wrong 
. It's not even a good way to resolve anything, it's just gonna cause more problems in the long run 
.
. That's how you resolve conflicts, not by exploiting kids 
. And what about the dad? He wasn't even trying to flee or anything, he just wanted to cooperate with the system 
.
. I mean, what kind of world do we live in where we gotta resort to this kind of thing? 
it's not noble, it's straight up cruel and heartless. And the worst part is that ICE is getting away with it because no one's willing to stand up to them like they should be. I mean come on, a 5-year-old kid can't even defend himself, he's just a helpless little kid who gets taken from his family and locked in some prison cell. This whole system is messed up 
The fact that ICE agents would use a 5-year-old child like bait just shows us how broken our immigration system is. It's all about playing with people's lives, putting families in fear, and it's just not right.
this is what happens when you have an immigration system that prioritizes punishment over people's lives 
its like they're just treating these families as statistics instead of human beings 
The fact that Governor Walz and Senator Klobuchar are speaking out against this is a good start, but we need real change here. We need to make sure that our immigration laws are in place to protect families like the Conejos, not punish them.
The idea of using a 5-year-old child as bait to get his parents to surrender is just heartbreaking 
. And did you know that the average age of the children detained is around 8 years old? 
I'm also shocked by how common this is - it's happening to multiple families in different states, with similar accounts of kids being left alone and "bait" being used to lure their parents into surrendering 
. And here are some numbers: 70% of Americans say that ICE's actions are morally wrong (according to a recent poll), and 60% of Minnesotans agree that Governor Tim Walz is right to condemn this behavior 
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The fastest-growing demographic in ICE detention centers are Latino children - they've seen a 200% increase since 2017 
, we need more people to stand up for what's right 
, the parents didn't do anything wrong, they just need help & guidance. 
.
This is a total breakdown of our immigration system, folks 
. What kind of system are we living in where kids are being used like this? It's not okay, period 
. I mean, can you even imagine how scared and traumatized that little kid must be feeling right now 
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ICE should be ashamed of themselves, not just for putting a kid through this but also for lying about the situation. I mean, if Ramos' father did flee on foot, that's one thing, but using his own child to get him back is another level of messed up 
. The fact that no one seems to be taking any actual responsibility for this mess just makes me wanna scream 
.
. This isn't some complex immigration issue, it's basic human decency.