ICE Forced a 5-Year-Old as Bait
ICE allegedly forced a 5-Year-Old as bait. YouTube: KARE 11

A five-year-old Ecuadorian boy has reportedly fallen seriously ill at the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley, Texas, just days after a high-stakes federal arrest in Minnesota that sparked accusations of using children as 'bait'.

Liam Conejo Ramos, a preschool student from Columbia Heights, was taken into custody alongside his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, by US immigration agents on 20 January 2026.

According to visiting US lawmakers and family representatives, the child is now suffering from fever, lethargy, and vomiting—conditions attributed to what advocates describe as 'toxic' and 'unsanitary' food within the facility.

The case has become a focal point of national outrage, highlighting the physical and psychological toll of the Trump administration's aggressive interior immigration enforcement surge.

Controversial Detention and Allegations of Using a Child as 'Bait'

School officials and community leaders in Minnesota sharply criticised the ICE operation, saying agents instructed the young child to knock at his own front door to check for others inside, a tactic one superintendent described as using 'a 5-year-old as bait'.

Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik said another adult present, including neighbours and school staff, offered to care for Liam to keep him out of custody. Officials said the agents on the scene refused those offers.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, disputed claims that agents targeted the child. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the father fled on foot, allegedly abandoning his son, and that the child remained with an officer to ensure his safety while the arrest was carried out. DHS maintains that parents may choose whether to be removed with their children or have them placed with a person of their choosing in such circumstances.

Immigration court records show the family's asylum case was active and that no deportation order was in place at the time of their arrest.

The case has placed a spotlight on enforcement actions in Minnesota, where school officials said multiple children have been detained in recent weeks, contributing to an atmosphere of fear among immigrant families.

Transfer to South Texas Family Residential Centre and Health Deterioration

After the arrest, Liam and his father were transferred more than 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley, Texas, one of the largest family detention facilities in the United States, capable of housing thousands of immigrants and their children.

Family attorney Eric Lee, who represents several detainees at Dilley, described the conditions inside the centre as 'absolutely abysmal', with allegations that food is contaminated and formula mixed with unsafe water. Lee told Minnesota Public Radio that guards were 'often verbally abusive' and that medical care was delayed even in serious cases.

Subsequent visits by US lawmakers have underscored the severity of Liam's condition. Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the centre on 28 January 2026 and reported that the child appeared lethargic and unwell, prompting renewed calls for immediate release.

Advocates and legal observers cited widespread allegations from detainees of unsafe, unsanitary conditions, including reports of food contaminated with worms and mould, limited clean water, and inadequate medical access.

The detention centre's conditions have attracted broader scrutiny beyond this case. Dozens of immigrant families have protested from inside the facility, chanting 'Libertad' ('Freedom'), and demonstrating deteriorating living conditions that they say have been ongoing since the Trump administration reopened the centre in 2025.

Legal Pushback and Oversight Challenges

Legal efforts to challenge the detention escalated when a federal judge, Fred Biery, blocked the deportation of Liam and his father on 27 January 2026, ruling that they must remain within the court's jurisdiction while litigation continues.

The legal order halts their imminent removal from the United States, but it does not mandate their release from detention.

The broader legal context includes longstanding protections for children under the Flores Settlement Agreement, a decades-old court ruling that requires children in immigration custody to be held in safe, sanitary conditions and, where possible, released from detention. Critics say the renewed use of large family detention facilities complicates adherence to those standards.

Medical concerns now dominate discourse around Liam's detention. Reports indicate he is suffering from fever, vomiting and loss of appetite, conditions linked by advocates to poor food quality and inadequate healthcare inside the detention centre.

As the legal battle and public debate continue, the welfare of one of the youngest detainees in recent memory has become a national symbol at stake in immigration enforcement.