Outrage in Minnesota Over Detention of 5-Year-Old Child in ICE Raid

A wave of protests has erupted in Minnesota, USA, following the detention of a five-year-old child by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Liam Conejo Ramos, a student at Columbia Heights Public School, was taken into custody along with his father and moved to a detention center in Texas.

School officials alleged that ICE officers used the child as a "bait," forcing him to lead them to his home to identify other occupants after pulling him out of a car on his way home from school.

School Superintendent Zena Stenvik and human rights organizations condemned the act, questioning the necessity of detaining a young child who poses no threat. Although the family’s lawyer stated they were complying with asylum regulations after arriving from Ecuador in 2024, ICE denied the allegations, claiming they were only ensuring the child’s safety after his father attempted to flee. This incident has intensified the ongoing nationwide debate and protests against the Trump administration's mass deportation policy and the controversial "Operation Metro Surge" in Minnesota.