CHICAGO, IL — Yesterday, federal immigration agents detained Liam Ramos, a 5‑year‑old Minnesota boy, after approaching him and his father in their driveway as they returned home from preschool. Agents removed Liam from the still‑running car and directed him to knock on his own front door — using him as bait to draw out other family members during the arrest. Liam and his father, who have an active asylum case and no deportation order, were taken into federal custody and transported to a Texas detention facility within hours. Over the past two weeks, three other children from the same school district have been detained by federal agents in separate incidents, some while on their way to school, fueling fear and instability across their communities.
In response, Kelly Albinak Kribs, Co-Director, Technical Assistance Program at the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights released the following statement:
“What happened to Liam should shock our conscience as a nation. A child’s safety is not negotiable. No government action should ever place a child at risk or treat them as a means to an end. When a preschooler and other local school-aged children are swept up, we know these practices are harming all children by destabilizing families and eroding any sense of safety in their communities. The Young Center urges DHS to immediately release these children to trusted caregivers and to cease enforcement operations that endanger children at home, at school, and in the spaces where they should feel safest.”
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The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights is a non-profit organization that protects and advances the rights and best interests of immigrant children and advocates for an immigration system that treats children as children first.