A 5 year old boy arriving home from preschool in Minnesota was taken by federal agents along with his father to detention facility in Texas school officials and the family lawyers added making him latest child caught up in immigration enforcement rise that has riled the Twin Cities in latest weeks.
Federal agency took Liam Conejo Ramos from runnign car while it was in family driveaway on Tuesday afternoon.
Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik added during news conference Wednesday.
The officers then told him to knock on door to his suburban Minneapolis home to view if other people were inside using 5 year old as bait.
columbia heights
Department of Homeland Security media person Tricia McLaughlin added in statement that ICE did not target child.
She said immigration and Customs Enforcement was conducting operation to arrest kid father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias who McLaughlin added is from Ecuador and US illegally.
He fled on foot without the boy she added.
For the child safety one of our ICE officers remained with child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias.
Mclaughlin added parents are given the option to removed with their kids or have them placed with person of their choosing.
Stanvik added other adult who lives at home was outside when the father and son were taken.
Agents would not leave Liam with that person.
DHS did not reply an email.
Thursday asking it Conejo Arias had asked to keep his son with him.
Liam and his father were being held in family holding cell in Texas, Marc Prokosch the family lawyer added during news conference.
Every step of their immigration process has been doing what they have been asked to do Prokosch said family asylum calim.
So this is cruelty.
Minnesota has become main stress of immigration sweeps by DHS led agencies a US Customs and Border Patrol official who has face of crackdown in Minneapolis and other cities said 3000 of some of dangerous offender have been arrested in Minnesota in past six weeks.
Julia Decker policy director at the immigrant law center of miinesota said advocates have no way of knowing whether government arrest numbers and description of people in custody are accurate.
Liam is fourth student from Columbia Heights Public Schools who has been detained by ICE in latest weeks said Stenvik.
columbia heights
A 17 year old student was taken Tuesday while heading to school and 10 year old and 17 year old have been taken.
The district consist of five school and about 3400 students from pre k to 12th grade.
