Minnesota Immigration Raid: 5-Year-Old Liam Conejo Ramos Used as Bait in ICE Operation
The question "Who is Liam Conejo Ramos?" has become a rallying cry across Minnesota communities following a deeply disturbing incident involving federal immigration agents and a five-year-old preschooler. What began as an ordinary afternoon pickup from school in Columbia Heights, a quiet suburb near Minneapolis, transformed into a traumatic event that has exposed troubling immigration enforcement tactics.
The Incident That Shook a Community
On what started as a typical school day, Liam had just finished his preschool session and was walking toward his father's waiting car. Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, Liam's father, was prepared to drive his son home when federal agents suddenly arrived at their driveway. According to multiple eyewitness accounts and school officials, the agents immediately took hold of the five-year-old child as he exited the vehicle.
What happened next has been described as particularly alarming: agents walked Liam to his family's front door and instructed the child to knock, essentially using him to check if anyone else was inside the home. Columbia Heights School Superintendent later characterized the situation bluntly, stating that "they were using a five-year-old as bait" in their enforcement operation.
Family Detention and Legal Questions
Despite offers of assistance from school staff and neighbors who presented paperwork to take temporary custody of Liam, immigration agents refused all help. Soon after the incident, both Liam and his father were transported to the South Texas Residential Center in Dilley, Texas—a family detention facility operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Adrian Conejo Arias, originally from Ecuador, had sought asylum at the U.S. border in December 2024. He maintains no criminal record in Minnesota and has no active deportation order against him, with his asylum case still pending review. Their attorney, Marc Prokosch, has emphasized that there appears to be no legal justification for their continued detention and is pursuing both judicial and public pressure avenues to secure their release.
Conflicting Accounts and Community Response
ICE officials have presented a different version of events, claiming agents did not target the child and that the father attempted to flee, leaving Liam behind. According to their statement, an officer remained with the boy for safety until the father was apprehended. ICE maintains that parents in such situations are given options regarding their children's placement.
However, community members and school leaders have expressed profound skepticism about this official narrative. The incident represents the fourth time in recent weeks that a student or minor has been detained in Columbia Heights schools, which serve approximately 3,400 students—many from immigrant families. Previous cases involved a 17-year-old stopped en route to school and two others aged 10 and 17.
Widespread Fear and Educational Disruption
The psychological impact has been immediate and severe. On one recent school day, attendance dropped by nearly one-third as parents kept children home, fearing ICE presence near school buses, parking lots, and entrances. Teachers describe Liam as a gentle and kind student whose classmates repeatedly ask when he will return to school.
Concerns about detention conditions have intensified following visits by Children's Rights group lawyers to the Dilley facility. Their reports describe underfed, sick, and exhausted children, some detained for over 100 days, with nearly all appearing ill. In December alone, approximately 400 children were being held long-term in similar facilities nationwide.
Political and Legal Implications
Immigration enforcement in Minnesota has notably intensified, with federal officials reporting nearly 3,000 arrests in the state over a six-week period. Vice President JD Vance recently met with Minneapolis leaders and acknowledged the case, defending detention practices as sometimes necessary for immigration law enforcement while mentioning his own five-year-old child. However, he did not address why agents refused assistance from adults offering to take Liam safely.
Local leaders have expressed open dismay, with the school superintendent questioning how a five-year-old could ever be perceived as a threat. Community members describe these enforcement tactics as traumatizing families and fracturing neighborhood bonds.
A Symbol of Broader Concerns
For many observers, the Liam Conejo Ramos case has become emblematic of larger systemic issues in U.S. immigration enforcement. The image of a small boy taken from his driveway, a school community shaken to its core, and parents now afraid to send children to class raises fundamental questions about enforcement methods and priorities.
As legal proceedings continue and public attention grows, one simple yet profound question hangs in the air: How did a five-year-old child become central to an immigration enforcement operation? The answer may have lasting implications for how communities, schools, and federal agencies interact in immigration matters nationwide.
