Who Is Liam Conejo Ramos? 5-Year-Old Kindergarten Student Detained By ICE In Minnesota

US Federal immigration officers detained a five-year-old kindergarten student during an enforcement operation in Minnesota, triggering sharp criticism from Democrats, civil rights groups and local officials, while the Trump administration defended the action as necessary for the child’s safety.

According to school officials and the family’s lawyer, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers intercepted a car in a residential driveway in Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon as the child was returning home from preschool.

The boy, identified as Liam Conejo Ramos, was taken into custody along with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias. The detention took place amid a large-scale immigration crackdown ordered by President Donald Trump, which

has seen thousands of ICE agents deployed to Democratic-led cities.

Who Is Liam Conejo Ramos?

Liam Conejo Ramos is a five-year-old kindergarten student at Columbia Heights Public Schools near Minneapolis. School authorities said he was one of several young children affected by recent immigration actions in the area.

US media reports, citing local administrators, say at least four children from the same school district have been detained this month.

The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, said Liam and his father are not US citizens but have followed legal procedures to apply for asylum in Minneapolis, a sanctuary city where local police do not cooperate with federal immigration sweeps.

Prokosch said he has raised concerns about the lack of information provided by ICE about where the child is being held. Reports suggest Liam and his father were transferred to San Antonio, Texas, though this has not been officially confirmed.

School district superintendent Zena Stenvik said children were “apprehended and taken away by masked and armed ICE agents with no identifying badges”. She warned that the continuing ICE presence was causing fear and trauma among students and families.

US Admin’s Response

US Vice President JD Vance confirmed that Liam was among those detained. He said ICE officers acted to protect the child after his father allegedly ran from agents during the operation. “What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death?” Vance said, defending the conduct of federal agents.

The US Department of Homeland Security also rejected claims that the child was targeted. In a statement posted on X, it said the father had “abandoned” the child during the arrest attempt and that an ICE officer stayed with Liam for his safety while other agents detained his father.

“Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates,” the department added.

Democratic Leaders Slam Action

The detention has sparked widespread outrage. Former US vice president Kamala Harris said she was “outraged” by the detention. “Liam Ramos is just a baby. He should be at home with his family, not used as bait by ICE and held in a Texas detention center,” she wrote on X, sharing a photo of the child wearing a blue knitted hat with rabbit ears.

Liam Ramos is just a baby. He should be at home with his family, not used as bait by ICE and held in a Texas detention center.

I am outraged, and you should be too. pic.twitter.com/djr2z1AG0N

— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) January 22, 2026

Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro said he had been unable to locate the child and accused Homeland Security authorities of misleading the public. “My staff and I have been working to figure out his whereabouts, make sure that he’s safe and also to demand his release by ICE,” he said, adding that ICE had not shared clear information.

Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton accused law enforcement of “terrorising a population” and “using children as pawns”.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said children were being treated “like criminals” and called the arrival of around 3,000 federal agents as feeling like an “occupation”.

(With inputs from agencies)