Immigrant families in Minneapolis fear separation as ICE detentions involve children with pending asylum cases

Family separation anxiety rises in Twin Cities immigrant communities

Immigrant parents across Minneapolis and nearby suburbs are reporting heightened fear of being separated from their children amid stepped-up federal immigration enforcement that has reached families with children enrolled in local schools and with immigration cases still in progress.

One widely watched case centered on Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old student in the Columbia Heights school district, who was detained with his father on Jan. 20, 2026, and transported to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas. A federal judge later ordered their release, and they returned to Minnesota over the weekend. The case drew attention because the child’s detention occurred while his family’s immigration proceedings were still pending, meaning deportation could not be completed without further court action.

Disputed accounts of how the detention unfolded

Local school officials and community members have described the January detention as traumatic for the child and have questioned tactics used during the encounter near the family’s home. Federal officials have disputed those characterizations, asserting that the child was not a target and that agents acted to ensure the child’s safety while taking the father into custody. The diverging accounts have become a focal point for broader questions about how immigration arrests intersect with child welfare and school communities.

More school-age detentions reported by district officials

Columbia Heights school officials have said Liam’s case was not isolated. The district has reported additional detentions involving students and family members during January, including a 10-year-old fourth grader detained with a parent and transferred to Texas, as well as arrests involving teenagers in separate incidents. Those reports have reinforced concerns among immigrant parents that routine activities—walking home, traveling to school, or being at home—could trigger enforcement actions that remove a parent or child from the community with little warning.

Detention conditions and public health concerns add pressure

Liam and his father were held at the South Texas Family Residential Center, a large facility that houses families. Following scrutiny of the facility, public officials confirmed that measles cases were reported there, prompting additional concern about communicable disease risks in congregate detention settings. The family received medical evaluations before returning to Minnesota.

Key issues shaping parental fears

• Children being detained alongside parents during domestic enforcement actions, not only at the border.

• Families with pending immigration court cases still being placed in detention while legal processes continue.

• Transfers to distant facilities, complicating access to counsel, school continuity, and family support networks.

• Conflicting narratives about arrest circumstances, raising accountability and oversight questions.

For many families, the immediate concern is not only removal proceedings, but the possibility that a detention event could abruptly split a household and disrupt children’s daily lives.

Community advocates and elected officials have continued pressing for information about detained children and for releases where legal and humanitarian factors apply, while federal authorities maintain that detentions are lawful and necessary under enforcement priorities. The resulting uncertainty has become a defining feature of daily life for many immigrant parents in the Minneapolis area.