Minnesota officials and the Trump administration are at odds over the detention of a five-year-old boy by immigration enforcement in a Minneapolis suburb following the death of Renee Good. School district authorities, the family’s legal representative, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for apprehending Liam Conejo Ramos outside his Columbia Heights, Minn., residence after returning from preschool. Conversely, federal officials, including Vice-President JD Vance, stated that the boy was not the target but was detained in connection with the arrest of his father, identified as an “illegal alien.”
The superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools revealed that ICE agents used Liam as “bait” during the arrest, refusing offers from another adult at the scene to care for the child. The agents led Liam to knock on the door of his home to check for other occupants. Detailed accounts of the incident were provided by school officials during a press conference, where chaotic scenes unfolded during the arrest.
Department of Homeland Security’s assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, clarified that ICE did not intend to detain the child but were present to arrest his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, described as an “illegal alien from Ecuador.” ICE officers stayed with Liam after his father fled on foot to ensure the child’s safety. Liam and his father were reported to be held at an immigration processing center in Dilley, Texas, according to the family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch.
While Vance supported the DHS’s version of events, emphasizing the necessity of detaining the preschooler for safety reasons, the family’s lawyer disputed the classification of Liam’s father as an “illegal alien,” asserting that both father and son legally entered the U.S. in 2024 and sought asylum. Prokosch also indicated that no criminal records were found for the father in the Minnesota database, outlining future legal strategies for the family’s defense.
