Six Columbia Heights students detained by federal agents

On January 20, federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, a student at Valley View Elementary in Columbia Heights.

Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were sent to be held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, an immigration facility in Texas.

At a press conference following the detention, Zena Stenvik, the Columbia Heights superintendent, said, “Over the last few weeks, ICE agents have been roaming our neighborhoods, circling our schools, following our buses, coming into our parking lots — multiple times — and taking our kids.”

Ramos is the fourth of at least six students detained from Columbia Heights Public Schools (CHPS) since ICE agents ramped up operations in Minnesota. A ten-year-old was apprehended alongside her mother on the way to class; a student who was walking alone to school was taken; a pair of boys were taken to the Whipple Federal Building in South Minneapolis; and a 17-year-old was detained when agents “pushed their way in” to their apartment, according to Stenvik.

“Over the past few weeks, it’s been pretty common knowledge about not opening doors,” she said. “Because they’re tearing their way in.”

On Jan. 22, ICE agents did something similar at an apartment with five additional CHPS students. At time of reporting, it is unclear if any individuals were apprehended that day.

“Four students have been apprehended and taken away by masked and armed ICE agents with no identifying badges,” Stenvik said. “So we decided it’s time to speak up and share what’s actually going on… This surge has changed nearly everything about our daily lives.”

On Jan. 29, a second grader and a fifth grader were taken into custody with their mother following her apprehension earlier that day. Jason Kuhlman, principal at Valley View Elementary, said the children’s mother asked school leaders to bring her children to her at the Whipple Federal Building because no other family members were available to care for them. Not long after, a judge issued an order requiring the mother and her children not be deported.

Liam Conejo Ramos’ detention

According to Stenvik, masked agents apprehended Liam in his driveway as he was returning from school.

“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,” she said.

ICE representatives denied the claim on social media, writing that “ICE did not, and has never, ‘used a child as bait.’”

Mary Granlund, CHPS school board chair, was present when Liam was apprehended by federal agents. She said that, when she arrived on the scene, other adults noticed her and indicated CHPS, rather than ICE agents, could take the child. “There was ample opportunity to be able to safely hand that child off to adults,” Granlund said.

Stenvik, who was also present at the scene, said she’d heard Arias “was handcuffed in the driveway.”

Marc Prokosch, the Ramos family’s lawyer, said the family applied for asylum in December 2024, adding that he was unable to find any criminal record for any family members.

“The family was not eluding ICE in any way,” he said. “They posed no safety, no flight risk, and should never have been detained.”

On January 21, during a visit to Minnesota, Vice President J. D. Vance said media misrepresented the incident, saying Liam was left behind when his father tried to flee ICE agents, a claim that Granlund and Prokosch refuted.

“What are they supposed to do?” Vance said. “Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?”

The Department of Homeland Security has said Arias was in the country illegally.

Prokosch called the claims from the Department of Homeland Security and the vice president “inaccurate,” denying that the father attempted to flee and saying the Ramos family “are not illegal aliens.”

At present, Prokosch is looking into “legal mechanisms” and “moral pressure.”

“We have to be hopeful,” he added.

On Monday, January 26, a federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of Ramos and Arias. Judge Fred Biery, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, told the federal government it could not move either family member out of his court’s jurisdiction while they challenged the detention.

In an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Liam’s mother said her son is “getting sick because the food they receive is not of good quality. He has stomach pain, he’s vomiting, he has a fever and he no longer wants to eat.” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, recently visited the Dilley detention center, whose conditions she described as “worse than those faced by some people accused of or convicted of crimes.”

On January 31, Liam and his father returned to Minnesota after Biery ordered their release from detention.

At time of publication, the Northeaster has reached out to ICE for response but has not heard back.

Students, teachers and parents respond

Ella Sullivan, Liam’s teacher, said he “brightens the room. His friends haven’t asked about him yet, but I know they’ll catch on. It’s a very unfortunate situation that should not be happening.”

When asked to elaborate upon ICE’s presence on school grounds, Stenvik said agents “were on-site (at a loading dock) for about ten minutes” during passing time. “Right above that loading dock, there’s a large bank of windows, and a lot of our students were up there, and they saw it.”

“I had heard that (ICE’s) approach was supposed to be targeting hardened criminals, or violent criminals, and that they weren’t targeting children,” she added. “But when I see them at bus stops and circling my schools, up and down my street — I have seen it with my own eyes — that’s what prompted me to speak out.”

CHPS has seen decreased attendance since ICE increased their presence in the Twin Cities, including a day where Granlund said “about one-third” of their students did not attend class in person. The majority of CHPS students “come from immigrant families,” she said. “Ever since the pandemic, we have had an online virtual school; we are expanding that to have some elementary options for families who choose it.”

“I aim to take care of our children, and I would like to be able to do that,” Stenvik added. “When children and their families and my staff are fearful, I am telling you it’s really taking a toll.”

Granlund expressed gratitude for CHPS parents and families.

“We’ve always said that we have a really generous community, and that is true,” she said. “We have food that’s available; we have diapers, baby formula, all of the things that you need to just live every day.”

At time of reporting, a room near Valley View Elementary’s main office had been repurposed to hold canned foods, snacks, diapers and other nonperishable goods.

“In addition to that, we have community members who are going out and shoveling their neighbors’ driveways and walkways, because their neighbors don’t feel safe doing that,” Granlund continued. “We have extra people outside to make sure kids are able to cross the street. It’s numerous, the ways our community has shown up for our schools and each other. We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful community.”

Rally at Valley View Elementary

by Davis Steen

On Saturday, January 31, a group of nearly 200 people showed up for a rally in the parking lot of Valley View Elementary, a school that has garnered international attention for the federal detainment of Liam Conejo Ramos along with other students.

“I’m not a rallier or a group organizer,” an event leader and parent said. “We’re all people who care about our city and care about our kids being taken out of here and the families that are afraid to leave their homes right now. We can’t allow this.”

Those unaware of Conejo Ramos’ name have likely seen the hat he wore while being detained, as it has been plastered on protest signs and across news sources over the past two weeks. A group of teachers showed up wearing a replica of the hat.

“They’re just so cute, but I’m so heartbroken to put this on,” Jen Blake said about the hat, which depicts a blue bunny with white ears on the side. “I have to wear it to represent these students.”

Blake is an English language teacher in the area. She has taught students who have now been detained by federal agents. While she spoke with the Northeaster, she held a sign with a picture of one of her past students.

“I was this little girl’s teacher in kindergarten and first grade,” Blake said, pointing at the girl on her sign. “She is in Dilley, Texas right now.”

The demonstration started in the Valley View Elementary parking lot at 11 am. Thirty minutes later, the group marched to Columbia Heights High School, a path that took them over Central Avenue via the pedestrian bridge on 49th Avenue NE.

The turnout consisted of parents, student, teachers, residents and elected officials of Columbia Heights.

Mayor Amáda Márquez Simula attended and was joined by people in pink vests. They were known as the Mayor’s Rapid Response Team, a group of Columbia Heights residents meant to maintain peace and keep people safe.

“Anything from a bottle of water, to showing people where to go,” one of the responders said. Before the event, some attendees were asked if they wanted to help with safety by the team members.

The rally had a clear message: People wanted an end to students and residents of Columbia Heights being detained.

“These kids that are being literally terrorized, followed home from school,” Blake said. “I have kids nervous at school, during the school day, their tummies hurt. It’s all this anxiety.”

“I’ve worked with students who have experienced trauma before,” Blake continued. “Never before did I feel like I’m working with kids that are currently experiencing trauma based on the US government’s doing.”