Biden staffer Andrew Bates, Trump staffer Tim Murtaugh spar over child death
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A former Biden administration official’s social media post lamenting the death of a young child in government custody during increased immigration operations in Minnesota sparked a reaction from Republicans who seized on the fact that the death occurred during the Biden administration.
Andrew Bates, who previously served as former President Joe Biden’s senior deputy press secretary, on Tuesday retweeted a post by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats about 8-year-old Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, who suffered from sickle cell anemia and a heart condition and died in Border Patrol custody in 2023.
“Not about Democrat or Republican/left or right. Absolutely false,” Bates wrote alongside the reposted content.
Bates’ post and the original Senate Judiciary Committee post prompted comments from conservatives pointing out that Alvarez died in 2023 during President Joe Biden’s administration.
Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, Liam Ramos’ father, remains in custody in Texas with his son after being arrested by federal immigration authorities. (Retrieved from Columbia Heights Public Schools/Department of Homeland Security)
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“What’s remarkable, Andrew, is the level of pride you must have felt in publishing this, completely unaware that this was happening while you were working in the White House,” Tim Murtaugh, President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign communications director, said in response to Bates. “Simply outstanding. First class work from start to finish.”
“Andy, can you remind me who’s in charge of the country in 2023?” said Greg Price, the Trump White House’s rapid response director for the first half of 2025.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers continue to conduct immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis on January 28, 2026. (Madison Thorn/Anatolia via Getty Images)
“I stand by what I said. This is terrible and should not have happened,” Bates wrote in her responses to the post. “What makes me proud is that the American people reject ICE’s cruelty to Americans and immigrants, putting us all in danger. I hope we can agree on that.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Bates for comment.
The social media posts among the White House veterans come at a time when the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation in Minneapolis is under intense scrutiny as part of Operation Metro Surge, an immigration operation that began in December 2025 and sent thousands of ICE agents into the city.
The agency recently captured 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos, an Ecuadorian citizen who federal authorities say is in the United States illegally.
The two are being held in an immigration detention facility in Texas.
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The interaction between Bates and Murtaugh also comes as ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CPB) face increased scrutiny following the killings of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota.
On Saturday, two CBP agents shot and killed Department of Veterans Affairs intensive care unit nurse Alex Pretti while recording federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. The agents who fired the gun at Pretti were placed on administrative leave in accordance with the agency’s procedures, Fox News Digital previously reported.
This undated photo provided by Michael Pretti shows Alex J. Pretti, who was shot by a federal officer in Minneapolis on January 24, 2026. (Michael Pretti via AP)
Pretti’s death comes weeks after an agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.
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The Department of Homeland Security described both attacks as acts of “self-defense.” Deputy Solicitor Todd Blanche confirmed at a press conference Friday that the Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into Pretti’s death.
Meanwhile, a majority of voters believe ICE’s immigration tactics have gone too far. A new Fox News poll found that in July 2025, 59% of voters believed the agency’s immigration efforts were “too aggressive”; This shows that this rate increased to 49% in July 2025.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
