US immigration officers detain 5 year-old boy in Minnesota, allegedly used as ‘bait’ to apprehend father

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers reportedly detained a five-year-old boy during an immigration enforcement operation on Tuesday.

The boy, identified as Liam Ramos, was with his father, identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias. According to reports, the child was used as ‘bait’ to capture his father, Conejo Arias, who had a pending asylum case.

But ICE denied the child had been taken into custody, writing to

“ICE made multiple attempts to get the family into the home to gain custody of the child.

“They refused to accept custody of the child. The father told officers he wanted the child to stay with him.”