U.S. news media outlets are heavily covering the January 20, 2026, detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos (also reported as Liam Ramos or Liam Conejo) and his father by ICE agents in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, sparking widespread criticism, protests, and conflicting accounts of the incident.
Mainstream sources—including CNN, The Guardian, ABC News, CBS News, The Washington Post, PBS NewsHour, BBC, and local outlets like MPR News and Sahan Journal—frame the story as deeply troubling and traumatic. They report that agents took the boy and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias (from Ecuador), into custody in their driveway as the child returned from preschool. The pair was transferred to a family detention facility in Texas (often specified as the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley).
School officials from Columbia Heights Public Schools, led by Superintendent Zena Stenvik, accuse ICE of using the boy as "bait" to lure family members out—such as having him knock on the door—while noting this is one of four students from the district detained recently.
Coverage highlights outrage over detaining a young child, allegations of agents "circling schools," the mother's distress, and broader concerns about aggressive immigration enforcement near educational settings under the current administration. Many stories emphasize the boy's active immigration/asylum case, which prevents immediate deportation, and include calls for his release amid protests in Minneapolis.
Federal officials and ICE/DHS push back strongly, as reflected in reports from outlets like ABC News, The Wall Street Journal, and New York Post. They assert the father fled on foot during the encounter, "abandoning" the child in a running car amid freezing weather, forcing agents to stay with the boy for his safety (including reportedly buying him food via drive-through before reuniting them).
DHS denies using the child as bait, calling such claims misleading or activist-driven smears that endanger officers. Some coverage notes the father is described as having a criminal immigration history.
Chilling images of a 5-year-old boy taken into custody by ICE along with his father in Minneapolis are sparking outrage. School officials say the child was used as bait, while DHS says the boy's father fled and abandoned the child. Matt Rivers has more. https://t.co/d8Hap9de7f pic.twitter.com/HBtg7F5hWC
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) January 23, 2026
The incident has fueled national debate on family separations, enforcement tactics, school safety, and immigration policy, with ongoing developments including superintendent interviews, lawyer statements, and political commentary (e.g., from Vice President Vance defending the actions as protective). As of January 24, 2026, the boy remains detained with his father in Texas, with no reported resolution.
Media tone varies: left-leaning and mainstream sources lean toward condemnation and humanitarian concern, while official statements and some conservative-leaning reports emphasize law enforcement priorities and refute "hoax" narratives.