The detention of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy by federal immigration agents outside his Minnesota home has produced sharply conflicting accounts. School officials say ICE officers used the child as “bait,” instructing him to knock on the door while his mother was inside and his father was present. The Department of Homeland Security denies this, saying the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway. The boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, are now detained together at a family facility in Dilley, Texas.

The case has become another flashpoint over immigration enforcement under the Trump administration, coming roughly two weeks after an ICE officer fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis in circumstances that also drew questions about the agency’s conduct.

What Happened: Dueling Accounts

Columbia Heights school officials say federal immigration agents used a 5-year-old boy as “bait” to get his mother to answer the door during an enforcement action outside their Minnesota home. They say officers instructed the boy to knock while his father was present and told him not to answer. The school superintendent said ICE agents refused offers from other adults — including a neighbor with documented care authorization and a school board chair — to take custody of the child.

The Department of Homeland Security denies these accounts entirely. The father, it says, fled on foot and abandoned the boy in a running vehicle. Officers assured the mother she would not be arrested and “did everything they could” to reunite him with his family, according to Marcos Charles, acting executive associate director of ICE enforcement and removal operations.

“ICE did NOT target, arrest a child or use a child as ‘bait,’” said Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman.

School Superintendent Zena Stenvik presented a different narrative at a news conference Friday. The father, she said, told his son not to open the door. The ICE officers, she said, instructed the boy to knock — “essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.”

School officials also said a neighbor had papers authorizing her to take care of the boy on behalf of the parents, and that a school board chair offered to take him. “Why detain a 5-year-old?” Stenvik asked reporters. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”

Where They Are Now

The boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, are detained together at a family facility in Dilley, Texas, near San Antonio. Conditions at the facility have drawn criticism from advocates. Leecia Welch, chief legal counsel at Children’s Rights, visited last week and reported that significant numbers of children have been detained for over 100 days. “Nearly every child we spoke to was sick,” Welch said.

The father’s legal status is contested. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said the father entered the United States illegally in December 2024. The family’s attorney, Marc Prokosch, countered that the father had filed a pending asylum claim on December 17, 2024, allowing him to remain in the country while his case is evaluated. Both can be true: he may have entered without authorization and then exercised the legal right to seek asylum.

The Trump administration issued a “Detained Parents Directive” in July requiring that if ICE officers encounter minor children during enforcement actions, agents “should under no circumstances take custody of children or transport them,” with exemptions for immigration violations. The directive requires that ICE allow parents and guardians time to make alternate care arrangements for children before detention. It does not specify what happens when a parent insists the child remain with them.

“If a parent is arrested while with their child, the government is not required to arrest the child, regardless of the child’s immigration status,” said Neha Desai, managing director at Children’s Human Rights and Dignity at the National Center for Youth Law. “When ICE detains a parent, its own policy requires them to allow time for arrangements to be made for the child’s care.”

What Happens Next

Marc Prokosch, the family’s attorney, said Thursday that he has not been able to reach the father or son directly. “We’re looking at our legal options to see if we can free them either through some legal mechanisms or through moral pressure,” he said.

Border Patrol Commander at Large Greg Bovino defended the agency’s conduct at a Friday news conference, saying that when U.S. citizens are arrested by local police, they are routinely separated from their children. “I challenge any other law enforcement agency anywhere nationwide to show me the fantastic care that ICE and the U.S. Border Patrol provide children,” Bovino said.

Marcos Charles said people at family detention centers “get top-notch care. They have medical care. The food is good. They have learning services. They have church services available. They have recreation.”

This detention reflects broader patterns in immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. An ICE officer’s fatal shooting in Minneapolis earlier this month prompted similar questions about agency conduct and led to legal challenges and prosecutor resignations.