Breaking — ICE Used a 5-Year-Old as Bait

ICE used a 5-year-old as bait to flush out his home. An adult begged to take him. They refused. Now he's in a Texas detention camp.

While others stenograph, grift, or chase the next distraction—this is the news that matters and how it's connected.

“Essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.”

That’s how Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik described what federal agents did to Liam Conejo Ramos on Tuesday.¹

Liam is five years old. He was wearing a Spider-Man backpack.² Now he’s in a detention facility in San Antonio.³

DHS’s Version

DHS posted on X: “ICE did NOT target a child. The child was ABANDONED.”⁴ They claim the father “fled on foot, abandoning his child.”⁵ They say he was an “illegal alien” who was “RELEASED into the US by the Biden administration.”⁴

Here’s what actually happened.

What Actually Happened

The family has been “following the legal process perfectly, from presenting themselves at the border to applying for asylum and waiting for the process to go through,” according to family attorney Marc Prokosch.³ They have an active asylum case. No deportation order. No criminal record.²

Tuesday afternoon. Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias,² pulled into their driveway after preschool. ICE approached. Adrian ran. ICE caught him.³

DHS’s own statement confirms the sequence: “For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias.”³

So they had the father in custody. And then they pulled Liam from the still-running car, walked him to the front door, and made him knock. To see if anyone else was inside.¹ ³

They didn’t want to protect Liam. They wanted to use him. That’s what “family values” looks like now.

An adult at the home begged to take the child.¹ ICE refused.³ DHS says its policy allows parents to designate who takes the child—but whether Adrian was given that option, DHS hasn’t said.⁵ ³ Someone was standing right there, asking to care for a frightened five-year-old. They said no.

“His Classmates Miss Him”

Liam’s teacher, Ella Sullivan, was in visible tears at the press conference.¹

“He’s a bright young student, and he’s so kind and loving,” she said. “His classmates miss him. And all I want is for him to be safe and back here.”¹

His mother didn’t know where her husband and son were for more than 24 hours.⁴ A GoFundMe has raised over $110,000.⁴

CBP Commander Greg Bovino claims his agency has arrested 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders” in Minnesota.⁶ One of those “dangerous offenders” is a preschooler in a Spider-Man backpack.

The Family Did Everything Right

DHS calls them “illegal aliens.” They’re not. Seeking asylum is legal under U.S. law—a right enshrined in the Immigration and Nationality Act and international treaties we signed. The only way this family becomes “illegal” is if their asylum case gets sabotaged.

DHS says Biden “RELEASED” them into the country like that’s an outrage. Asylum seekers aren’t required to be detained while their cases are pending. That’s not a scandal. That’s the law.

And if the concern is asylum fraud or backlogged courts? In 2024, Democrats and Republicans negotiated a bipartisan bill that would have dramatically sped up asylum processing. Trump killed it. He wanted immigration to stay broken so he could run on it.

This is the family that “did it the right way.” Presented themselves at the border. Applied for asylum. Waited for the process. Active case. No deportation order. No criminal record.²

Exactly what the border hawks demand.

It didn’t matter. They detained him and his five-year-old son anyway.

That’s the tell. “Do it the right way” was never an invitation. It was a trapdoor.

Asked if the detention was illegal, Prokosch was blunt: “Probably not, and that’s what’s going to make my job really difficult. Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s moral.”¹

A Pattern, Not an Incident

Liam is the fourth Columbia Heights student detained by ICE in recent weeks.⁵

Two weeks ago, a 10-year-old girl and her mother were detained on the way to school.⁷ During the arrest, the child called her father to tell him ICE agents were “bringing her to school.”⁷ She didn’t understand what was happening. Her father rushed to the school. Both his daughter and wife were already gone. By the end of the school day, they were in a detention center in Texas.⁷

Wednesday, armed and masked agents detained a 17-year-old high school student.⁷

The district is in crisis. Last week, a third of students stayed home.⁵ Across the Twin Cities, absenteeism is running 20-40%.¹ Minneapolis and St. Paul have canceled classes to transition to virtual learning.¹

School board chair Mary Granlund: “Our children should not be afraid to come to school or wait at the bus stop. Their families should not be afraid to drop off or pick up their children from school.”⁷

“Protecting children.” That’s what they say. A 5-year-old. A 10-year-old. A 17-year-old. One school district. Masked agents ripping them away—sending them to detention camps where six have died this month alone, one choked to death by guards.⁸ That’s what they do.

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The Call

This isn’t an isolated incident. We track stories like this using the fascism syndrome—ten indicators that a democracy is sliding into fascism—so you don’t lose the thread in the daily chaos:

• Normalization of political violence: Armed and masked agents detaining children. A third of students too afraid to go to school. Parents afraid to pick them up.

• Erosion of due process: No deportation order. No criminal record. Active asylum case. Detained anyway.

• War on reality: DHS claims the child was “abandoned”—while refusing to leave him with an adult who begged to take him.

• Aggression as virtue: Using a five-year-old as bait isn’t enforcement. It’s cruelty worn like a badge.

Detain children. Terrorize schools. Lie about what happened. That’s not enforcement. That’s fascism.

But we’re not here just to tell you the house is on fire.

We built this publication to equip you with the tools to fight back—the frameworks, the messaging, the strategies that actually work. See the links below. But we can only keep doing this with your help. If this matters to you, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. You keep the fight alive.

• Fighting Fascism: How We Push Back and Win — The strategic playbook for reclaiming power

• The Trump Regime Messaging Guide — How to talk to people who’ve been captured by the machine

• The Freedom Illusion — How we got here, and the counter-ideology that gets us out

1. MPR News, “ICE detains 5-year-old Minnesota boy; school leader says agents used him as ‘bait’“, MPR News, January 22, 2026.

Key source for Stenvik’s full quote: “The agent took the child out of the still-running car, led him to the door and directed him to knock on the door asking to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home, essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.” Also documents regional impact: 20-40% absenteeism across Twin Cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul canceling classes, teacher in tears, and attorney Prokosch’s statement on legality vs. morality.

2. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, “Detention of 5-Year-Old by Federal Agents Incenses Minneapolis“, New York Times, January 22, 2026.

Confirms the father has no Minnesota criminal court records and the family has an active asylum case. Provides details: Liam was wearing a Spider-Man backpack and oversized hat. Names the father as Adrian Conejo Arias.

3. Andrew Jeong, “ICE detains four children from Minnesota school district, including 5-year-old“, Washington Post, January 22, 2026.

Critical for the sequence: father fled and was caught, THEN agents used Liam as bait. WaPo correction confirms: “It was to lure other people”—the father was already apprehended. Also documents that an adult begged to take Liam and was refused, with no explanation from DHS. Confirms Liam is now in San Antonio. Source for the Prokosch quote about following the legal process “perfectly.”

4. Richard Luscombe, “Fundraiser for five-year-old boy taken by ICE receives more than $100,000“, The Guardian, January 22, 2026.

Documents the mother’s ordeal: she didn’t know where her husband and son were for 24+ hours. GoFundMe has raised over $110,000. Source for DHS’s X post claiming the child was “ABANDONED” and that the father was “RELEASED into the US by the Biden administration.”

5. Associated Press, “Federal officers detain 5-year-old boy who school official says was used as ‘bait’“, KPTV, January 22, 2026.

Documents DHS’s claim that the father “fled on foot, abandoning his child,” and the policy that parents can choose to have children placed with a designated person. Reports Liam is the fourth Columbia Heights student detained in recent weeks and that a third of students stayed home last week.

6. KARE 11, “ICE-CBP press conference on Minneapolis“, KARE 11, January 22, 2026.

Press conference where CBP Commander Greg Bovino claims 3,000 “of some of the most dangerous offenders” arrested in Minnesota—apparently including a 5-year-old with no criminal record.

7. Laura Romero, “5-year-old asylum seeker detained as ICE expands enforcement in Minnesota“, ABC News, January 22, 2026.

Crucial details on the other detained students. The 10-year-old case: during arrest, child called her father saying ICE was “bringing her to school”—she didn’t understand what was happening. Father rushed to school, found both daughter and wife already taken. By end of school day, both in Texas detention center. Also confirms the 17-year-old was detained by “armed and masked agents.” Source for school board chair Granlund’s quote.

8. Edith Olmsted, “ICE Has Cut Its Detainees Off From Medical Care“, The New Republic, January 20, 2026.

Documents the death toll in ICE detention: seven died in December (deadliest month since Trump returned), 2025 was deadliest year since 2004, and six dead in the first 21 days of January—including one man reportedly choked to death by an ICE agent. The detained population has nearly doubled to over 73,000.