ICE agents detaining teens, toddlers in Minnesota
Judge orders ICE to release toddler
Federal authorities now have a deadline to release a 2-year-old after she was detained with her father during a traffic stop in Minneapolis. FOX 9’s Mike Manzoni has the details.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - ICE agents have detained numerous children this month, including at least one toddler.
Immigration attorneys call the detainment of children a "cruel" escalation of force in the ongoing Operation Metro Surge.
What we know:
ICE agents have detained at least nine children this month as part of Operation Metro Surge, according to court records and school officials. Most of the children and their families are seeking asylum.
Immigration attorneys argue that should prevent them from being detained by ICE. However, immigration agents have regularly detained people with protected status during the ongoing immigration operation.
Immigration Attorney Mark Prokosch said the recent detainment of children show ICE tactics are no longer unjustified legally, but also violent and cruel.
"We know that detaining children and families is wrong," Prokosch said.
By the numbers:
The children detained include at least one toddler, two pre-teens and several teenagers.
- A 2-year-old from Ecuador detained during a traffic stop (Father detained)
- 5-year-old from Ecuador detained on his way home from school (Father detained)
- 10-year-old detained on way to school (Mother detained)
- 12-year-old from Venezuela detained at home (family of six detained)
- 17-year-old removed from car (no parent present)
- 17-year-old detained in apartment (mother detained)
- A minor child whose age was not identified was detained during traffic stop (adult siblings detained)
- A middle-school student in Hopkins was detained at home (Father detained)
- An elementary-school student in Hopkins was detained at home (father detained)
Source: Federal court filings and school district officials
The backstory:
The 2-year-old girl was detained along with her father during a traffic stop in Minneapolis this week.
The toddler was detained two days after a 5-year-old was picked up by ICE agents while coming home from preschool.
Court records show two students in Hopkins were detained after their mother was stopped on her way to work.
The brothers are originally from Ecuador and have been attending school in Hopkins since 2023.
The principal of Victor Glen Lake Elementary described the youngest brother as a "model student" who doesn’t stop smiling.
Columbia Heights Schools reported at least four students in the district have been detained in recent weeks, including two high school students and a fourth grade student detained with her mother on their way to school.
The superintendent for Columbia Heights Schools said the 5-year-old picked up by ICE this week was "used as bait" to detain his father.
What they're saying:
Vice President JD Vance disputed that narrative and defended the immigration agents who took the boy into their custody.
"What are they supposed to do? Let a 5-year-old freeze to death?" Vance said at a press conference in Minnesota this week.
"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," Vance added.
Why you should care:
Reports of children being detained by immigration agents create even more alarm and urgency given the government’s previous failures to protect children in their custody.
During the first Trump administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) detained and then separated family members as part of a zero-tolerance policy.
Federal investigations later found DHS could not keep track of the detainees and regularly failed to reunite children with their families.
Earlier this month, a minor was detained with her adult siblings and could not be located for several days, according to the family’s attorney.
She was eventually released, but the situation renewed concerns about what happens to children after they are detained by immigration agents.
What's next:
A federal judge ordered DHS to release a two-year-old girl by Friday night so she could be returned to her mother.
Federal judges have ordered DHS to return several children and their parents to be returned to Minnesota after they were swiftly moved to a detention center in Texas.
Attorneys argue most of the children and their family members should be released because they are seeking asylum, which should shield them from immigration enforcement.
"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," Prokosch said about the family of the 5-year old boy detained in Columbia Heights. "They've shared all of their information with the government, and they were following the process."