ICE uses 5-year-old asylum seeker as 'bait' to knock on doors after preschool pickup

ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias on Jan. 20, 2026, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, despite their pending asylum case with no deportation order filed Dec. 17, 2024.

Conflicting accounts emerged: school officials say agents took Liam from a running car and had him knock on doors to see who else was home; ICE says the father fled on foot and abandoned his child.

The family's attorney Marc Prokosch says they entered legally through the CBP One app at a Texas port of entry, but DHS says they have 'no record' of CBP One usage—highlighting disputes over who qualifies as a 'legal' asylum seeker.

Liam is one of four Columbia Heights students detained this month, prompting Superintendent Zena Stenvik to warn that ICE agents are 'circling schools' and following buses.

The Dilley detention center holding Liam is operated by private prison company CoreCivic under an ICE contract, with a National Center for Youth Law lawsuit alleging food contaminated with mold and worms, water with algae, and severe medical neglect.

Trump ended the CBP One app in Jan. 2026, eliminating the Biden-era pathway the family reportedly used, and expanded family detention—a practice Biden had largely stopped in 2021.