Four children who attend Columbia Heights Public Schools have been arrested by ICE agents, including a 5-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl who have both been taken to detention centers in Texas.
During a press conference at Valley View Elementary School, Superintendent Zena Stenvik provided details about the recent incidents she says has generated widespread fear in the community, as well as tearing several families apart.
“As of today, four of our students, our children, have been detained by ICE. Just yesterday, January 20th, 2026, two of our students were taken by ICE agents. On the way to school, a 17-year-old high school student, a minor, was taken by armed and masked agents, alone. No parents were present. The student was removed from their car and taken away. Then, in the afternoon, Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old child, was apprehended with his father while in their driveway, just having arrived home from this Preschool classroom,” Stenvik said Wednesday.
“Another adult living in the home was outside and begged the agents to let them take care of the small child, but was refused. Instead, the agent took the child out of the still-running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home—essentially using a 5-year-old as bait…