“He Was Wearing Bunny Ears”: ICE Agents Accused of Using a 5-Year-Old Boy as “Bait” After Snatching Him on His Way Home from Preschool
We have covered a lot of dark stories this year. But the image coming out of Minnesota today isn’t just dark; it is soul-crushing.
His name is Liam Ramos. He is five years old. And on Tuesday afternoon, he wasn’t a “national security threat.” He was just a little boy in a blue knit hat with bunny ears, carrying a Spider-Man backpack, walking up his driveway after preschool.
Then the ICE agents moved in.
In a story that has sparked outrage from school superintendents to the Governor’s mansion, ICE agents in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, are accused of not just detaining a kindergartner, but using him as a pawn to hunt his relatives.
The “Bait” Accusation
According to Zena Stenvik, the school superintendent who witnessed the aftermath, the cruelty was calculated.
After agents detained Liam’s father in the driveway, they allegedly didn’t comfort the terrified child. Instead, school officials say an agent took the 5-year-old to the front door of his house and ordered him to knock.
Why? To see if anyone else would open the door.
“They essentially used a five-year-old as bait,” Stenvik told reporters, her voice shaking. Another adult was reportedly inside, begging to take the child. The agents refused.
From the Driveway to Texas in Hours
This wasn’t a slow process. It was an extraction. By the time Liam’s older brother came home from middle school 20 minutes later, the driveway was empty. His dad was gone. His little brother was gone.
Within hours, Liam and his father were reportedly flown 1,200 miles away to a detention center in Dilley, Texas.
Think about that timeline. One minute you are showing your dad a drawing you made in preschool. That night, you are sleeping in a cage in a different time zone.
“You Cannot Tell Me He Is a Criminal”
The government claims the father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was a target. They claim he “abandoned” the child by fleeing (a claim the school disputes).
But the question haunting Minnesota today is simple: Why the boy? Liam’s family reportedly has an active asylum case. They were following the rules.
“Why detain a 5-year-old?” Superintendent Stenvik asked. “You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”
Outrage
We talk about “border security” and “policy.” But today, look at the photo of the blue hat with the bunny ears. That is not policy. That is a child. And using a preschooler as a human door-knocker isn’t law enforcement—it is a moral failure.
Liam’s cubby at school is empty today. His classmates are asking where he is. And the only answer we have is that he is sitting in a facility in Texas, probably still wondering why the men with guns wouldn’t let him go inside.
Spread the Word: This story is moving fast. Share this post. The only way to get Liam back is to make sure the world sees exactly what happened in that driveway.
