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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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A fundraiser supporting the family of a 5-year-old Minnesota boy taken into federal custody alongside his father has raised more than $200,000, according to the campaign page.
The online appeal, titled Help Bring 5-Year-Old Liam Home, was created on GoFundMe to help cover legal costs associated with efforts to secure the release of the child and his father.
Why It Matters
Federal authorities launched Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota in December, deploying agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations to the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area as part of a large-scale immigration enforcement effort.
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The operation, which federal officials say targets immigration violations and certain criminal offenses, has drawn scrutiny following the fatal shooting of Renée Nicole Good during an ICE operation and the shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in a separate encounter. Those incidents, along with arrests involving immigrants and family members, have fueled protests in Minnesota and other cities as the Trump administration advances a push for aggressive immigration enforcement and increased deportations.
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What To Know
Federal immigration agents detained Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, outside their home on January 20 in Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis, school officials and the family's lawyer said.
The pair was subsequently transported to a family detention facility in Texas. According to school authorities, the boy and his father were both placed into custody. Officials said the family had an active asylum application and no deportation order.
The incident has drawn widespread attention, in large part because of the age of the child involved and the photos and accounts of the scene released by the school district. Superintendent Zena Stenvik and other local officials characterized parts of the incident as chaotic. They have said an adult relative offered to care for the child on-site, but that immigration agents declined and took the boy into custody with his father.
The Department of Homeland Security has said the operation sought to detain Liam's father and that ICE did not target a child.
What People Are Saying
Ella Sullivan, Liam's teacher, said at the news conference: "He's very friendly. He comes into class every day, and he just brightens the room. His friends haven't asked about him yet, but I know that they'll catch on."
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek: "ICE did NOT target a child. On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias an illegal alien from Ecuador who was RELEASED into the U.S. by the Biden administration. As agents approached the driver Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, fled on foot—abandoning his child. For the child's safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration's immigration enforcement."
Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota wrote on X on Wednesday: "ICE just detained a 5-year-old child. Don't tell us this is about 'the worst of the worst.' That's a lie. Absolutely vile."
Vice President JD Vance said in a statement on Thursday: "So the story is that 'ICE detained a 5-year-old.' Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?"
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