5-year-old detained by ICE in Columbia Heights: Family came into US the 'right' way

School officials, lawyer on 5-year-old detained by ICE

Columbia Heights school officials and the lawyer of the family of 5-year-old Liam Ramos spoke Thursday regarding the detainment of the boy and his father by ICE. 

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - The 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father, who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), came to the U.S. the "right" way, the family's lawyer said Thursday. 

More details on child detained by ICE in Columbia Heights

What we know:

The lawyer for Liam and his father, Marc Prokosch, says they came into the country the legal way, seeking asylum from their home country, Ecuador. 

"So they did everything right when they came in. They used the app, they made an appointment, they came to the border and presented themselves to Customs and Border Patrol. They've shared all of their information with the government, and they were following the process. They were just trying to secure safety from persecution for their family from their home country. But ICE didn't care about the fact that they had those pending claims and then just arrested them," Prokosch said at a press conference Thursday. 

Prokosch says Liam and his father are being held in an immigration detention facility for families in San Antonio, Texas. He continues to say that immigration violations are "civil in nature." 

"We know that detaining children and families is wrong. Immigration violations are civil in nature, and so how can you justify incarcerating a child because of a civil violation, which, again, is not even accurate here because they entered lawfully through the CBP [Customs and Border Patrol] one program," Prokosh said. 

According to Prokosch, the family was following all the established protocol while pursuing their claim for asylum. He says they showed up for their court hearings, posed no safety threat, and were not a flight risk. 

Prokosch says he has had indirect contact with Liam and his father, and is working to get into direct contact with them. Prokosch believes Liam and his father are being held together. 

JD Vance on 5-year-old detained

What they're saying:

Vice President JD Vance said that he first thought it was "terrible" before he "did a little more follow-up research." 

"I came to find that the 5-year-old wasn't arrested, but that his dad was an illegal alien, and that when they went to arrest him, the father ran," Vance said. "What are they supposed to do? Let a 5-year-old freeze to death? Not arrest an illegal alien? If the argument is that you can't arrest people who have violated federal laws because they have children, then every single parent is going to be given complete immunity. That doesn't make any sense."

Prokosch responded to Vance's statement by reiterating that Liam's father is not an "illegal alien," and entered the country through legal channels. 

Columbia Heights students detained by ICE 

Dig deeper:

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

One of the students, Liam, was detained Tuesday afternoon. Liam 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 Liam "begged" agents to let them take care of the child, but was refused. 

Agents then took Liam 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. 

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.

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.