By Keerthi Ramesh,
Vice President J.D. Vance on Thursday publicly backed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers after a controversial operation in a Minneapolis suburb that saw a 5-year-old boy taken into federal custody, deepening an already fraught standoff between Washington and local officials.
Vance, on a visit to Minneapolis aimed at quelling tensions over a broader immigration enforcement surge, dismissed sharp criticism of the agency’s tactics and placed blame on what he described as insufficient cooperation from “far-left” city and state leaders. He said local resistance, rather than federal conduct, has contributed to unrest in the city.
“What are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death?” Vance said, responding to reports that ICE agents detained the boy as they were trying to arrest his father. “If the argument is that you can’t arrest people who have violated federal law because they have children, then every single parent will be completely immune from law enforcement.”
The boy, identified by school officials as Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were taken to a family detention center in Texas after federal agents approached their home in Columbia Heights following school. School administrators allege that ICE officers ordered the young child to knock on the front door in an attempt to draw out the father, a claim that has fueled outrage among parents, educators and civil liberties advocates.
Local officials say Liam and his father, who entered the United States in 2024 and were pursuing asylum, posed no threat and had no deportation orders. They characterize the operation as overly aggressive and traumatizing for children and families.
Vance, however, defended the agency’s broader mission and rejected assertions that ICE’s actions amounted to misconduct. He has repeatedly cast the unrest in Minneapolis as the result of what he decries as obstruction by “far-left agitators” and elected officials unwilling to coordinate with federal law enforcement.
The vice president’s remarks come amid weeks of heated conflict in Minnesota that escalated after a federal officer shot and killed a local resident in early January. Daily protests and national media attention have underscored deep divisions over immigration enforcement under the current administration.
READ: Can ICE agents enter homes without warrants? (
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have criticized the federal presence, calling for more restrained, targeted efforts and questioning the legality of some ICE tactics. Both have framed the situation as a public safety crisis exacerbated by a federal show of force rather than cooperative policing.
On the ground, school officials and community members have voiced alarm that the presence of armed agents near schools and the detention of children and young students is creating fear among families and undermining trust in law enforcement.
As Minnesota remains deeply polarized, Vance appealed for calm while urging local leaders to yield greater cooperation, saying that shared enforcement goals could help de-escalate tensions