Vice President JD Vance defended the detention of a 5-year-old pre-schooler, Liam Conejo Ramos, by ICE agents in Minnesota, claiming that the officials followed protocols and had no other choice. He also placed the blame on the boy’s father, accusing him of abandoning the child.
Vance called the father an “illegal alien” and claimed that the department did not target the five-year-old but only wanted to arrest the father. He also alleged that the child’s father fled, and the ICE agents had to stay with the child to ensure his safety.
“When they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran. So the story is that ICE detained a 5-year-old. Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien?” the VP asked, per The Financial Express.
Vance also mentioned that the agents took the child to McDonald’s, and shared that he saw the news on his way to Minneapolis and ended up doing follow-up research to confirm.
J.D Vance talking about the 5 year old that was detained by ICE after his father was allegedly detained! They put the boy in their vehicle allegedly handcuffed & took him to a ICE facility instead of calling a family member to pick him up since he was born here! 🤬 pic.twitter.com/snjcmL9Xi0
— Suzie rizzio (@Suzierizzo1) January 22, 2026
When asked whether he feels proud of how the administration is handling the immigration crackdown, JD Vance replied, “What are they supposed to do? Parenthood shouldn’t grant immunity from law enforcement.”
“If the argument is that you can’t arrest people because they have children, then every single parent will be given immunity from ever being the subject of law enforcement. That doesn’t make any sense. No one does,” he further added.
Meanwhile, the boy’s school accused ICE of arresting the five-year-old and using him as “bait” while he was on his way home with his father to get to other family members. . The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, further clarified that “This family was not eluding ICE in any way.”
JD Vance🇺🇸 defends ICE ‘detaining’ a 5yr old child:
‘ICE were after his father’
Supporting genocide
Kidnapping a head of state
Piracy in international waters
Theft of land & minerals
Shooting mums
Abducting 5yr olds
The🇺🇸 is lawless
The World Cup ⚽️ should not be held in 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LNv39w4KUk
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) January 23, 2026
The attorney also countered Vance’s “illegal aliens” comments, stating the boy’s family have a pending asylum case and all the right documents.
“They were following all the established protocols, pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings, and posed no safety, no flight risk, and never should have been detained,” he stated, adding, “They came properly, they came legally and they were pursuing a legal pathway.”
Several social media users took to X to condemn both ICE‘s actions and Vance’s response. “ICE used 5-year-old Liam Ramos as bait. Agents detained him, used him to lure people out of a house, then sent him to a detention center in Texas. That is indefensible. Trump’s mass deportation machine is out of control. How many children is ICE doing this to?” one asked.
“THEY ALWAYS TRY TO TWIST THE STORY!” another said. “Why is JD VANCE accepted by anyone, you know HE’S LYING,” a third user commented.
