ICE sealed the fate of a five-year-old boy detained after a tragic photo sparked outrage.
Photos of little Liam Conejo Ramos allegedly being used as ‘bait’ by ICE officers have devastated Minneapolis and beyond, and now there are more updates on the five-year-old’s fate.
Amid the ongoing controversy over controversial ICE raids, the photo of little Liam Conejo Ramos has emerged as particularly harrowing. Now the fate of the five-year-old child has been revealed.
The photo in question, which has sent shockwaves around the world, shows the boy being taken into federal custody by ICE officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota, his woolly blue bunny hat and Spiderman backpack a reminder of his young age. A Columbia Heights Public School District official says Liam was stopped by masked men as he walked home from school with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias.
In the past two weeks alone, students in the district have been detained by federal agents in four separate immigration raids. It has been claimed by both neighbours and school officials that Liam was used as “bait” to trap his relatives, with officials allegedly asking the youngster to knock on the front door of the property so his mother could open it. Neighbour Vanessa Mullenix previously told the Mirror: “We have entered a new layer of hell; now ICE is targeting children and using children as pawns to take their families out of their homes. It is absolutely heartbreaking.”
Read more: ICE agents were ‘fired’ in the shooting of Alex Pretty, which contradicts the White House’s claims.
Many are concerned about the well-being of Liam and his family (Image: Columbia Heights Public Schools).
The Department of Homeland Security has vehemently denied this account, calling it a “blatant lie”, while authorities say Mr Arias fled on foot, leaving the boy in a moving vehicle on the road. Vice President J.D. Vance defended the officers’ actions during a visit to Minnesota. Vance said, “So the story is that ICE has detained a five-year-old child? Well, what should they do? Should they let a five-year-old child die in the cold? Shouldn’t they arrest an illegal alien in the United States?”
Despite these purported justifications, people in the local area and beyond have been devastated by the incident, which comes at a time of intense scrutiny over the Trump administration’s harsh immigration crackdown. And many people are concerned about the well-being of Liam and his family.
On Monday, January 26, US Judge Fred Bieri issued a temporary order banning “no possible or anticipated removal or transfer” of Liam and his father, Adrian, who has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to secure their release, court filings show. Independently, reportedly, pursuant to this summary order, immigration officials have also been barred from deporting Liam “out of this judicial district during the pendency of this trial and until further order of this Court.”
Judge Fred Byre has issued a temporary order to stop ‘any potential or anticipated removal or transfer’ of Liam and his father, Adrian. (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Federal officials say Adrian was in the US illegally, although details have not been provided. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has said that the father entered the country in December 2024 without proper documentation, while the family’s attorney has claimed that Adrian has a pending asylum claim that would allow him to remain in the country legally.
This story comes amid widespread concerns over the activities of ICE agents in the US and especially in Minneapolis. The agents’ presence has caused friction in communities across the country since President Donald Trump decided they would be responsible for carrying out his tough immigration agenda. While the opposition sparked protests last year, the events of the past few weeks have caused a firestorm in the White House, with even MAGA fans expressing grave concern.
Earlier this month, 37-year-old mother Renee Good was shot dead by an ICE agent in the US city of Minneapolis, sparking widespread anger across the US. After Alex Pretty, a 37-year-old US citizen, died in a scuffle with agents in the same city on January 24, tensions escalated.
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read more: : Judge blocks deportation of 5-year-old boy ‘used as bait’ by ICE agents in Minnesota
