(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A group of Democrats was up in arms after falsely claiming that ICE had detained a 5-year-old child in Minnesota. That anger quickly fizzled once the allegation collapsed under scrutiny.
The child, 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, was not detained by ICE at all. Instead, agents said they intervened after his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an illegal alien from Ecuador, abandoned him in a vehicle while reportedly fleeing arrest.
In a series of X posts, the Trump administration said Conejo Arias attempted to evade arrest by fleeing on foot, leaving Liam behind in the car. ICE was at Conejo Ramos’s home to arrest him.
Despite ICE’s account, several Democrats took to X to amplify the false narrative. The claim was fueled by a left-wing Washington Post report published Thursday, which ran the uncontextualized headline: “ICE detains four children from Minnesota school district, including 5-year-old.”
ICE forcefully rejected that characterization.
“ICE did NOT target a child. The child was ABANDONED. 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,” ICE wrote on X.
“As agents approached the driver Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, fled on foot—abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,” the agency added.
ICE did NOT target a child. The child was ABANDONED.
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… https://t.co/O7o2dVGHqZ
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) January 22, 2026
ICE further explained that when a parent is arrested, agents ask whether the parent wishes to be removed with their child or prefers to designate a safe individual to take custody.
Both Conejo Arias and 5-year-old Liam were later transported together to an ICE facility in Texas.
