2-Year-Old Briefly Detained by ICE, Flown to Texas & Returned to Mother
A two-year-old girl was briefly taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) alongside her father in Minneapolis on Thursday, and transported to Texas, before being returned to her mother Friday afternoon, according to a family lawyer.
Escalating Concerns Over Family Separations
The incident adds to growing public concern following the recent detention of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Minneapolis earlier this week. Like the current case, Liam was taken with his father and transported to a family detention facility in Texas, where they remain. Both cases occurred during increased immigration enforcement efforts.
Details of the Minneapolis Incident
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), agents attempted to take the father, identified in court documents as Tipan-Echeverria, into custody after observing him “driving erratically with a child in the vehicle.” The father reportedly refused commands to open his vehicle door or lower his window. The family’s vehicle was approached in their driveway, and an agent “broke the glass on the window” while the toddler was inside, according to an affidavit.
Video footage from the scene shows approximately 120 people surrounding federal agents, and reports indicate that “agitators in the crowd” threw rocks and garbage cans at agents and the child, prompting the deployment of crowd control measures. DHS stated that obstructing and assaulting law enforcement is a federal crime.
Conflicting Accounts of Custody Transfer
DHS claims federal agents attempted to transfer the child to her mother, who was present, but she “refused.” Agents then “took care of the child” until the father and daughter were “reunited” at a federal facility. However, the family’s lawyer asserts that the mother was attempting to reach her husband and receive the child, but ICE agents prevented the transfer. The mother was reportedly “terrified” when she saw the approaching agents.
Furthermore, the affidavit states the ICE vehicle lacked a car seat when the father and child were transported. This mirrors allegations in the Liam Conejo Ramos case, where the boy’s mother was also described by authorities as refusing custody, a claim disputed by Pastor Sergio Amezcua, who is assisting the family.
Legal Intervention and Future Steps
Attorneys for the family filed an emergency petition, arguing there was “no criminal history” and seeking the immediate release of the toddler. A court granted the petition, temporarily transferring custody to the attorney “for the purpose of retrieving the infant from immigration detention.” The court determined the risk of harm to the child in custody was “overwhelming.”
Despite the court order issued at 8:11 p.m. Thursday, the father and child were flown to Texas by 8:30 p.m. that same evening, according to the family’s lawyer. ICE subsequently informed the attorney they would fly the child back to Minnesota on Friday. A federal court order now prevents ICE from removing the father from Minnesota while court proceedings continue.
Frequently Asked Questions
What prompted ICE to take the father and child into custody?
DHS stated agents attempted to take the father into custody after observing him “driving erratically with a child in the vehicle” and that he refused commands to open his vehicle.
Was a warrant served before ICE entered the family’s property?
According to an affidavit, ICE agents entered the backyard and driveway area of the home “without a warrant.”
What is the current status of the father and child?
The two-year-old girl was returned to her mother Friday afternoon. The father and daughter were on a flight back to Minnesota Friday afternoon. A federal court order prevents ICE from removing the father from Minnesota.
As legal proceedings unfold, it remains to be seen what impact this case, and others like it, will have on future immigration enforcement practices and the treatment of families at the border and within the United States.