ICE Detains 5-Year-Old Returning From Preschool, Sparking Outrage

A 5-year-old boy wearing a blue toque with droopy ears and carrying a Spider-Man backpack was reportedly detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside his home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, an incident that has ignited widespread anger and renewed scrutiny of immigration enforcement tactics.

According to officials from Columbia Heights Public Schools, the 5-year-old boy, Liam Ramos, was arriving home from the Minnesota preschool with his father on Tuesday when ICE agents intervened in the family’s driveway. School superintendent Zena Stenvik said the child was effectively used “as bait” during the operation, alleging that agents directed the boy to knock on the door of his home to see if another adult was inside.

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ICE Denies Targeting the Child

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has denied that the child Liam Ramos was targeted. In a written statement to CBC News, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said ICE was conducting a “targeted operation” to arrest Liam Ramos’s father, whom she described as an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador.

“ICE did NOT target a child,” Tricia McLaughlin said, adding that the father allegedly fled on foot, leaving the child behind. DHS maintains that an officer stayed with the boy for his safety while other agents pursued the father.

However, DHS has not confirmed where the child was taken following the arrest. Family lawyer Marc Prokosch later told CBC News that both Liam and his father are being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Centre in Texas.

School Officials and Governor Push Back

Stenvik strongly disputed the federal account, saying another adult at the home begged agents to take custody of the 5-year-old boy and was refused. “Why detain a 5-year-old?” she asked. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz echoed that criticism, calling the incident emblematic of an immigration crackdown that has gone too far. “Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes,” Walz wrote on social media, urging the campaign to stop.

A Community on Edge

Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis, has become a flashpoint amid a massive immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities. Tensions have already been high following recent ICE operations, protests, and a fatal shooting involving federal agents earlier this month.

School officials say Liam’s case is not isolated. According to the district, three other children — including a 10-year-old and two teenagers — have been detained by ICE in recent weeks, often while traveling to or from school. DHS has not confirmed those additional cases.

A Symbolic Case With National Impact

Photos of 5-year-old boy Liam from Minnesota being led by an ICE agent — taken by community members and released by the school district — have circulated widely, becoming a powerful symbol in the immigration debate. For critics, the image of a preschooler detained outside his home underscores what they see as a moral breaking point in U.S. immigration policy.

As questions remain about the child’s treatment and ICE’s broader tactics, the case is likely to fuel further political, legal, and humanitarian challenges to America’s immigration enforcement system.