Vance defends ICE detaining 5-year-old asylum seeker, using him as 'bait' to find more targets

Vance blamed Minnesota officials for chaos, saying they told local police to 'stand down' instead of helping ICE agents who were 'being assaulted by far left agitators.'

ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos on Jan. 20 after he returned home from preschool in Columbia Heights, then used him to knock on the door to see if others were inside.

Vance claimed the father abandoned Liam by running, but school superintendent Zena Stenvik said witnesses saw ICE grab the father in the driveway, and school officials offered to take the child.

Attorney Marc Prokosch said the family entered the U.S. legally in 2024 via the CBP One app at a Texas port of entry to seek asylum from Ecuador, and Justice Department records show they have a pending immigration case with no deportation order.

The detention happened during Operation Metro Surge, which sent 2,000+ federal agents to Minneapolis after ICE agent Jonathan Ross fatally shot American citizen Renee Good on Jan. 7, sparking protests Governor Tim Walz called 'organized brutality.'

Trump threatened Jan. 15 to invoke the Insurrection Act—giving him power to deploy military troops—if Minnesota didn't stop 'professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E.,' though he later said he's not ready to do it yet.