ICE detains 5-year-old boy, 3 other students in Columbia Heights

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Photo taken by bystanders of Liam Conejo Ramos at the scene of his detainment by ICE. Photo courtesy of Columbia Heights Public Schools (Supplied)

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - Columbia Heights school officials say a 5-year-old boy was used as "bait" for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain him and his father. 

5-year-old boy detained by ICE

What we know:

Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said that four students have been detained by ICE. 

One of the students, 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, was detained Tuesday afternoon. Ramos had just arrived home from preschool when he and his father were apprehended in their driveway. 

Stenvik says another adult who lives in the home with Ramos "begged" agents to let them take care of the child, but was refused. 

Agents then took Ramos out of the still-running vehicle and led to the front door of his home, Stenvik said. The agents then told him to knock on the door, asking to be let in. 

Stenvik said the 5-year-old was "essentially used as bait." 

The boy's middle school-aged brother then came home to see his father and little brother missing. The boys' mother was not detained by ICE. 

Liam Conejo Ramos' school photo. Photo courtesy of Columbia Heights Public Schools (Supplied)

What they're saying:

"This family is following U.S. legal parameters and has an active asylum case with no order of deportation. I have viewed the legal paperwork with my own eyes," Stenvik said. "Why detain a 5-year-old? You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal." 

"Liam is a bright, young student. He is so kind and loving, and his classmates miss him. He comes to class every day and just brightens the room. All I want is for him to be back here and safe," Ramos' preschool teacher, Ella, said. 

Other Columbia Heights students detained by ICE 

Dig deeper:

On Tuesday morning, a 17-year-old high school student was removed from their car by ICE agents and taken away. No parents were present, Stenvik said. 

Two weeks ago, a 10-year-old, fourth-grade student was apprehended by ICE agents on her way to school with her mother, according to school officials. The child called her father, telling him the ICE agents were bringing her to school. When her father arrived at the school, his daughter and wife had already been taken. 

The child and her mother were taken to Texas before the school day was done, and they remain there, Stenvik said. 

Last week, a 17-year-old student at Columbia Heights High School was detained with her mother by ICE in their apartment. 

Then, on Wednesday, an ICE vehicle drove onto school property at Columbia Heights High School, and came up to the loading dock. School administrators told them to leave, and they did without speaking to any students. 

"Staff wear brave faces throughout the day for their students, while facing so many uncertainties. As soon as the school day ends, they are not sure if they will see their students tomorrow morning while taking attendance," Stenvik said. 

The other side:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says ICE agents "did not target" the 5-year-old. They allege that the boy's father is in the country illegally, and he was targeted in the operation. DHS goes on to say that the father fled on foot when agents approached him. 

"Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates," DHS said in a statement. 

DHS did not address the claims that the 5-year-old was used as "bait."