Five-Year-Old Boy Detained by ICE Outside Home

A routine afternoon turned into a flashpoint in the national immigration debate when federal immigration agents detained a five-year-old boy outside his Minnesota home.

The case has sparked immediate criticism from Democratic lawmakers, raised questions about enforcement tactics, and intensified scrutiny around a recent surge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the region.

ICE Continues: What Happened in Columbia Heights?

On Tuesday, five-year-old Liam Ramos and his father were taken into custody by ICE agents in the driveway of their Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, shortly after the boy returned home from school, according to district officials.

The superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public School District said the child and his father were sent to a detention centre in Texas after federal agents approached them as they arrived at their house.

School officials allege that an ICE agent directed Liam to knock on the front door to see whether others were inside — a claim that has been widely reported and criticised by local educators and community leaders.

Official Responses and Conflicting Accounts

The Department of Homeland Security has defended the operation as a targeted arrest of the child’s father rather than an action aimed at the boy himself. ICE and DHS spokespeople said that the father fled on foot when agents approached, leaving the boy behind, and that an officer remained with Liam “for his safety.”

Local officials dispute this version, saying the father’s vehicle was still running when agents took both father and child into custody and that another adult at the home offered to watch the boy but was refused.

Political Fallout and Public Outcry

The incident drew swift condemnation from lawmakers. Representative Joaquin Castro has been actively trying to locate the boy and push for his release, accusing ICE of a lack of transparency. Democrats, including Sydney Kamlager-Dove, called the detentions an act of unnecessary cruelty that targeted families rather than criminals.

Meanwhile, Vice-President J.D. Vance addressed the situation by rejecting some media portrayals of the event, asserting that ICE did not target the child and framing the narrative around enforcement challenges.

A Broader Enforcement Surge

Liam is not the only child caught up in recent federal operations. School officials say at least four students from the same district have been detained by immigration authorities in recent weeks, part of a wider uptick in ICE activities in the Minneapolis area.

The surge follows other controversial enforcement actions in Minnesota, further raising tensions between federal authorities and community leaders who argue that these operations are harming families and instilling fear among students and residents.

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