Minnesota officials and the Trump administration hold contrasting perspectives on the recent detention of a five-year-old boy by immigration enforcement in a Minneapolis suburb following the death of Renee Good. School district authorities, the family’s legal representative, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents for apprehending Liam Conejo Ramos in the driveway of his Columbia Heights, Minn. residence after returning from preschool. Federal officials, including U.S. Vice-President JD Vance, claimed that the boy was not the target but got caught up in his father’s arrest, described as an “illegal alien.”
The superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools revealed that Liam was utilized as “bait” by ICE agents during the arrest. Despite pleas from another adult at the scene to take care of the child, the agents refused and directed Liam to knock on the door to see if anyone else was home. School board chair Mary Granlund witnessed the arrest and offered to take the child but could not recall the agents’ response.
Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that ICE officers did not target the five-year-old but instead were focused on arresting his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias. McLaughlin explained that ICE officers stayed with Liam as his father fled on foot, leaving the child behind for safety reasons. The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, disclosed that Liam and his father were being held at an immigration processing center in Dilley, Texas.
JD Vance, supporting the DHS account, defended the ICE actions, emphasizing that the child was not arrested but kept safe while his father, identified as an illegal alien, attempted to evade law enforcement. The family’s lawyer disputed the “illegal alien” label, asserting that both father and son legally entered the U.S. in 2024 and applied for asylum. Prokosch mentioned that the father has no criminal records in the Minnesota database and hinted at future legal strategies for the defense of his clients.