Outrage in Minneapolis as ICE Detains Children, Including 5-Year-Old, in Trump Crackdown
In a shocking development that has sparked widespread outrage, US immigration authorities have detained at least four children, including a five-year-old boy, from a Minneapolis-area school district this month. School officials raised the alarm on Thursday, highlighting concerns about the aggressive reach and controversial methods of federal enforcement under President Donald Trump's latest immigration crackdown.
Superintendent's Emotional Plea: "Why Detain a 5-Year-Old?"
Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik voiced her distress at a news conference, questioning the rationale behind targeting such young individuals. "Why detain a 5-year-old?" she demanded. "You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal." Her comments underscore the growing tension between local educational institutions and federal immigration policies.
The operation, which has seen the deployment of approximately 3,000 officers to Minnesota's largest city, Minneapolis, is part of what Trump has described as a battle to remove violent criminals from the United States. However, the detention of minors has raised serious ethical and humanitarian questions.
ICE's Response and Conflicting Accounts
The Department of Homeland Security swiftly rejected claims that a child was specifically targeted. Spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin stated in a Thursday declaration, "ICE did NOT target a child." She explained that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducted an operation on Tuesday to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who was residing in the country illegally.
According to McLaughlin, as agents approached, Conejo Arias fled, abandoning his child. "For the child's safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias," she said. She added that parents involved in ICE operations are given the option to be removed with their children or to have them placed with a designated caregiver.
Despite this explanation, the DHS did not address the school district's assertion that other children had also been detained, leaving a gap in the official narrative.
Details of the Detentions Emerge
At the news conference, Superintendent Stenvik provided harrowing details of the incidents. She revealed that five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken with his father from their driveway on Tuesday after being picked up from preschool. This case has become a focal point for critics of the enforcement tactics.
Stenvik also reported that on the same day, a 17-year-old high school student was detained by armed and masked agents while en route to school, with no parents present. Furthermore, she disclosed that two weeks earlier, a 10-year-old girl was detained by ICE agents on her way to elementary school and remains in a Texas detention center with her mother. Additionally, last week, another 17-year-old high school student was detained along with her mother at their apartment by ICE agents.
Broader Implications and Community Reaction
These incidents have ignited a firestorm of criticism in Minneapolis and beyond, with many questioning the proportionality and humanity of Trump's immigration crackdown. The targeting of school-aged children has particularly alarmed educators, parents, and civil rights advocates, who argue that such actions create a climate of fear and disrupt the educational environment.
As the debate intensifies, the clash between federal enforcement priorities and local community values continues to unfold, highlighting the deep divisions in US immigration policy under the current administration.
