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Vice President JD Vance defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement following reports that a five-year-old boy was taken by agents near Minneapolis.
School district officials in nearby Columbia Heights, Minnesota, said at least four students have been taken by ICE officers in recent weeks, including five-year-old Liam Canejo Ramos and his father. When asked about the issue, Vance labeled his father an “illegal alien” and defended the agency’s decision.
“Well, I do a little bit more follow-up research, and what I find is that the five-year-old was not arrested, that his dad was an illegal alien, and when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran,” Vance told reporters in Minneapolis.
“So the story is that ICE detained a five-year-old, well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?” he added.
As Vance arrived in Minnesota Thursday afternoon, Attorney General Pam Bondi also announced that at least three people had been arrested after anti-ICE demonstrators disrupted a Sunday worship service at Cities Church in St. Paul.
Protests are ongoing in Minneapolis as federal immigration agents carry out “Operation Metro Surge” in the area. The operation has sparked protests and backlash from local officials, which further intensified after an ICE officer shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother, on January 7 in Minneapolis.
Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools in Minnesota, said ICE activity is “inducing trauma” after the agency took at least four students in recent weeks.
“The onslaught of ICE activity in our community is inducing trauma and is taking a toll on our children, taking a toll on our families, our staff, our community members. This surge has changed nearly everything about our daily lives,” Stenvik told reporters.
Five-year-old Liam Ramos was among the four students taken by agents, school officials have said.
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 22:12
An attorney representing the family of Liam Ramos, the five-year-old taken by ICE agents in Minneapolis earlier this week, said the boy and his father entered the U.S. “lawfully.”
“Liam and his dad did enter the United States at a port of entry to seek asylum through the [Customs and Border Patrol] One app, at the Brownsville border crossing,” attorney Marc Prokosch told reporters Thursday.
“They entered lawfully through the CBP One program,” he later added.
The father and son are currently together at an ICE facility in Dilley, Texas.
The Department of Homeland Security has said the father entered the U.S. illegally. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin also emphasized the agency “did NOT target or arrest a child.”
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 22:10
Some Minneapolis business owners are closing their stores Friday as part of an “ICE out” day of protest against the agency, according to NBC News.
The organizers are also calling for no work, school or shopping, the outlet reports.
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 22:05
Josh Marcus22 January 2026 21:55
Vice President JD Vance told reporters the Trump administration is not currently looking to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minneapolis amid ongoing anti-ICE protests.
Vance said Thursday it’s his understanding that the Insurrection Act would “allow the federal government to use the military for local law enforcement operations.”
“Right now, we don’t think that we need that,” he said.
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump told NewsNation that he doesn’t think it’s needed yet, but it “might be at some point.”
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 21:45
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE “did NOT target or arrest a child” in response to reports that a five-year-old was taken by agents in Minneapolis earlier this week.
“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,” McLaughlin said in a statement to The Independent.
“As agents approached, 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,” she added. “Our officers made multiple attempts to get the alleged mother who was inside the house to take custody of her child. Officers even assured her she would NOT be taken her into custody. The alleged mother refused to accept custody of the child. The father told officers he wanted the child to remain with him.”
The father and son are currently together at an ICE facility Dilley, Texas, she added.
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 21:22
No American politician with the potential to launch a presidential campaign in 2028 currently has a favorability rating above 50 percent, a new poll has found.
Joe Sommerlad22 January 2026 21:09
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 20:46
One local police official noted that off-duty officers have been among those targeted by ICE.
“Of course, if somebody violated the law, if somebody is racially profiled, if somebody violated the rights of one of our fellow citizens, that is something we will take very seriously,” Vance said.
“What I also would say is that many of the most viral stories of the past couple of weeks have turned out to be, at best, partially true. So we want to try people based on reality, based on the truth, based on context,” he added.
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 20:26
Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration’s investigation into Renee Good’s killing is ongoing — but added that he does not want the ICE agent involved to be “judged in the court of public opinion.”
Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month
“Of course, we’re investigating the Renee Good shooting. But we’re investigating them in a way that respects people’s rights and that ensures that if somebody did something wrong, yes, they’re going to face disciplinary action, but we’re not going to judge them in the court of public opinion,” Vance said.
Katie Hawkinson22 January 2026 20:17