The screams pierced the quiet Minneapolis neighborhood. “That’s a kid!” witnesses cried, their voices rising in desperation as masked figures led a five-year-old boy away from his home. Liam Conejo Ramos, just moments before returning from preschool, found his world irrevocably altered.
Video footage captured the harrowing scene: Liam, clutching a Spider-Man backpack, being escorted by an agent toward a darkened vehicle. Horns blared in protest, a chorus of outrage accompanying the boy’s forced removal. The image of a child, bewildered and vulnerable, being taken into custody ignited a firestorm of criticism.
A photograph quickly circulated, showing Liam wearing an oversized bunny hat and a winter coat, his small frame dwarfed by the gravity of the situation. His father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was also detained, the family’s life uprooted in a matter of minutes. Adrian had arrived in the US from Ecuador in 2024, seeking a future for his son.
Conflicting narratives emerged from authorities and school officials regarding the arrest in the snow-covered streets of Columbia Heights. A high-ranking official defended the actions of the agents, stating they had “no other choice,” questioning what they should do if they were to “let a five-year-old child freeze to death.”
The official’s account painted a picture of a father fleeing, leaving his son behind. He insisted the boy wasn’t the target, but a consequence of his father’s status. Liam and Adrian were transported over 1,300 miles south, to a detention center in Dilley, Texas, their fate uncertain.
However, those representing the family vehemently disputed this version of events, asserting that neither Liam nor Adrian fit the label used to describe their immigration status. They highlighted a disturbing trend: Liam was the fourth student in the district to be detained in recent weeks, a sign of escalating deportation efforts.
School superintendent Zena Stenvik questioned the rationale behind detaining young children, especially given the stated focus on criminals. “Why detain a five-year-old?” she asked, her voice filled with disbelief. “You can’t tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”
Stenvik recounted hearing pleas from within the family home, an adult desperately offering to care for Liam, a request that was reportedly ignored by the agents. She alleged that ICE was using the boy as “bait,” a tactic that raised serious ethical concerns.
The arrest occurred a mere 25-minute drive from the site of another recent tragedy: the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good by an ICE agent earlier in the month. The incident has left communities on edge, fostering a climate of fear and distrust.
Residents described ICE’s presence as a “wrecking ball” swinging through Minnesota, leaving a trail of anxiety and disruption. Families are reportedly afraid to leave their homes, fearing encounters with government vehicles. Access to essential resources, like medicine, is becoming increasingly difficult.
One local resident, speaking anonymously out of fear of reprisal, expressed a deep sense of alarm, stating there was “no line” the current administration wouldn’t cross. She urged resistance, a call to action echoing throughout the community as they grapple with the implications of these events.
