Minneapolis saw thousands of protesters take to the streets on Friday after a five-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The protest comes amid a wider federal immigration crackdown in the city.
Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, both asylum seekers from Ecuador, were taken from their driveway when federal agents came to arrest his father. School officials said the boy, a preschool student, was reportedly used by agents to get access to his home, sparking public outrage.
Many local businesses closed their doors in solidarity with the protests. Demonstrators, braving temperatures as low as -23°C (-9°F), carried signs and chanted “ICE out.” Some protesters also gathered at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, which is used for deporting people taken in immigration raids.
Vice President JD Vance defended the ICE operation, saying officers were protecting the child after his father fled. ICE officials said Liam was treated according to rules for handling children and was placed at a family residential center while his immigration case continues.
The incident follows the January 7 killing of U.S. citizen Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent, which has further increased tensions in the city. Human rights groups and political leaders, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, condemned the detention, calling for better treatment of migrant children.
Local authorities are seeking a temporary restraining order to pause the ICE operation in Minnesota, with a hearing scheduled for Monday.
Advocates warn that without intervention, more children could be caught up in immigration enforcement actions.
