This week, an image circulated online showing a young child, wearing a large hat and a Spider-Man backpack, standing with a federal immigration officer. The child looked visibly upset. Without looking into the background or context of the photo, many Democrats and other critics quickly directed their anger at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
For instance, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey labeled ICE’s treatment of minors as criminal. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris, who has run for president twice and not succeeded, expressed outrage on social media, stating, “He’s still a baby. He should be at home with his family, not turned into a decoy by ICE and held in a Texas detention center. I’m outraged, and so should you.”
New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took it further, accusing ICE of “abducting 5-year-old children and using them as bait,” and suggested cutting off their funding.
In contrast, some members of the liberal media seemed less than enthusiastic about the narrative being pushed by the Democratic Party. In an attempt to correct what they viewed as misinformation, staff from Columbia Heights Public School, where the child was reportedly present, shared details about the situation.
During a visit to Minneapolis, Vice President J.D. Vance provided clarity by highlighting critical aspects that were being overlooked by critics of ICE. He mentioned, “I saw this story while I was in Minneapolis, and as a father of a 5-year-old, I found it disturbing. How do you arrest a 5-year-old?” Vance then added, “After further investigation, we found that the child had not been arrested; his father, who was in the country illegally, had fled and left the child behind.”
“So, is ICE supposed to let a 5-year-old freeze in the streets? Shouldn’t they focus on apprehending illegal immigrants?” he continued.
ICE had attempted to arrest the child’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and when he ran away, he left the child alone. According to Marcos Charles, assistant director of enforcement and removal operations at ICE, agents stayed with the child, ensured he was fed, and spent several hours caring for him. “This was done by my agents, not his father,” Charles remarked.
Interestingly, reports suggested that individuals inside the father’s residence did not allow the boy inside, despite assurances from the police that he wouldn’t be taken into custody.
Mark Prokosch, an attorney for the family, revealed at a press conference that the boy and his father had been reunited and were currently at a family detention center in Dilley, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security mentioned that parents would be asked if they wanted to be deported with their children. If they declined, ICE would place the children with a designated safe person.
The Vice President raised the point that the idea that ICE shouldn’t arrest undocumented immigrants who have children is impractical because it suggests that all parents would therefore be beyond the law’s reach. “It just doesn’t make sense,” Vance concluded.
