Federal immigration officers detained a five-year-old boy on Tuesday during an enforcement action, according to the family’s lawyer.
The child, Liam Ramos, was with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, when officers approached them in their driveway.
The agency said officers were carrying out an operation involving the boy’s father, whom they described as an “illegal alien”, and claimed the child had been left without supervision.
DHS said officers tried several times to get the family to go inside the home to take custody of the child.
Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik questioned why a five-year-old was detained at all, saying a young child can’t be considered a dangerous criminal.
The district said the images were taken by bystanders.
Officials did not say who took the photos; they only described the photographers as known members of the community.
Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, family attorney Marc Prokosch said the father and son are currently being held at a detention center in San Antonio, Texas, and that lawyers are still trying to get in touch with them.
Prokosch said the pair came to the United States from Ecuador in 2024 to seek asylum.
He added that they were not trying to avoid ICE and were following the required legal procedures.
School officials said a federal officer asked the child to knock on the door of the home to check whether anyone else was inside.
According to Superintendent Zena Stenvik, the boy had just returned home from preschool at the time.
An adult who was inside the house asked if they could bring the child indoors, but was refused.
School board member Mary Granlund said she was present and offered to take custody of the child herself. Despite this, officers detained the pair.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who was in Minnesota at the time, told reporters that the agents had no option but to detain them as the father fled.
Stenvik said ICE has recently detained four students within the district, including a 10-year-old and two 17-year-olds.
She added that the increased immigration enforcement activity has created significant distress within the community.
The enforcement effort, referred to as Operation Metro Surge, has prompted widespread criticism from Minnesota residents.
On January 7, a federal agent fatally shot a woman named Renee Good, an incident that led to protests and strong condemnation from state and local officials.
