MINNEAPOLIS, USA — U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, officials said that a 5-year-old boy who was seen being placed into a federal vehicle in Minneapolis earlier this week is now with his family.
This update follows days of public outrage and conflicting accounts of what occurred during an immigration enforcement operation.
At a press conference in Minneapolis on Friday, January 23, 2026, federal officials, including Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol commander, said the child, Liam Conejo Ramos, was now in an ICE family detention facility in Texas with his father, who had been the target of enforcement action earlier in the week.
“While other officers apprehended his father after conducting the arrest, my officers stayed with the child,” Marcos Charles, an executive assistant director at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, said.
He said the child was cared for by officers, taken to eat at a drive-through restaurant, and later reunited with family.
The case has become a flashpoint in Minnesota amid intensifying scrutiny of immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration, particularly in and around the Twin Cities.
Conflicting Accounts Over What Happened at the Home
The controversy began after Columbia Heights Public Schools raised alarm over the child’s treatment during the operation.
School officials said the boy had been used as “bait” by federal officers, claiming he was told to knock on the door of his home as agents sought to determine whether other targets were inside.
Federal officials rejected that description on Friday, January 23, 2026, saying the account circulating locally and online was false.
They said the child’s father fled during the attempted arrest, leaving the boy behind, and that officers stayed with the child while seeking to return him safely to family members.
The dispute has drawn broader political attention.
According to Reuters, witnesses and local officials challenged the administration’s account of events and criticised ICE for not accepting offers from the community to care for the child.
Part of Wider Enforcement Operations in Minnesota
The case involving Liam Ramos emerged amid reports that several children connected to the Columbia Heights school district had been detained in recent federal immigration actions.
Reuters reported that at least four children from the district were detained, including the 5-year-old, during a broader enforcement push in the Minneapolis area.
An attorney for the family told reporters that Liam Ramos and his father had entered the United States through a lawful asylum process and were awaiting immigration proceedings.
