DHS denies Minnesota school’s claim of ICE detaining 5-year-old in immigration sweep

MINNESOTA (TNND) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is disputing a report from a public school district in Minnesota that four students, including a 5-year-old boy, were “taken” by immigration agents.

Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, claimed in a Wednesday news conference that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had detained Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and his son, Liam Conejo Ramos, in their driveway just after the child returned home from preschool.

Stenvik added, according to the news conference viewed by NBC News, that another adult in the home “begged” the agents to let him take care of the child, but the agents refused.

“ICE did NOT target a child. The child was ABANDONED,” DHS refuted in a statement. “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.”

Officials further explained that for the child’s safety, ICE officers remained with the boy while other agents apprehended his father.

“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,” McLaughlin continued. “This is consistent with past administration’s immigration enforcement.”

Additionally, Stenvik explained a 17-year-old student was “taken by armed, masked agents” with no parent present, a 10-year-old was taken by ICE agents on her way to school, and another 17-year-old was detained with her mother when agents “pushed their way into an apartment.”

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who has been under investigation by the Justice Department, responded to the claims of children being detained, saying, “Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the street and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes.”

ICE questioned if Walz acquired his reading comprehension skills at the Quality Learing Center, referring to alleged social security fraud by daycares in the state.

“This is a lie, but that’s all he seems to know how to do at this point,” ICE wrote on X. “Lies like these, from elected officials such as yourself, put our officers at greater risk of attack.”