Additional Coverage:
- Minneapolis principal cries looking at photo of sick boy, 5, used as bait and deported by ICE (themirror.com)
Principal Weeps Over Detainment of 5-Year-Old Student, Child Reportedly Sick in ICE Custody
A local school principal was visibly emotional this week, expressing profound distress over the detention of a 5-year-old student by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The child, Liam Conejo Ramos, was apprehended alongside his father and is now reported to be ill while in federal custody.
Jason Kuhlman, principal of the school Liam attends, became emotional after seeing a photo of Liam and his father being detained by federal agents. The apprehension occurred as they were returning from preschool.
“Thinking about a 5-year-old, what he’s already went through. Thinking about his mom.
Seeing that he was knocking on that door and mom could not open it,” Kuhlman shared with CBS News. He described Liam as a “normal, happy 5-year-old” with a lively disposition, notable for his distinctive rabbit headgear, where “the little ears flop” as he moves through the school.
Liam Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, are currently being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas. Records indicate that Arias entered the country legally and has no criminal history. On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a temporary halt to the deportation of both Ramos and Arias.
Attorney Eric Lee, who represents other families detained at the same Texas facility, has described the conditions there as “absolutely abysmal.”
“They mix baby formula with water that is putrid. The food has bugs in it.
The guards are often verbally abusive,” Lee told Minnesota Public Radio on Monday. He recounted a severe incident: “One of my clients had appendicitis, collapsed in the hallway, was vomiting from pain, and the officials told him, ‘Take a Tylenol and come back in three days.'”
During a visit to the detention center this month, Lee noted that children were confined to their dorms, an occurrence he found highly unusual and speculated might have been intentional.
“The families are not allowed to leave their dorms today. That is extremely unusual.
I’ve never heard of that happening before. And they’re trying to prohibit the children inside from exercising their free speech,” Lee stated.
Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) visited the Dilley detention center on Wednesday, where Ramos and his father were among the detainees he met. Following the visit, Castro posted a picture on social media showing him with Liam, who appeared to be either sleeping or limp in his father’s arms.
“Just visited with Liam and his father at Dilley detention center,” Castro wrote. “I demanded his release and told him how much his family, his school, and our country loves him and is praying for him.”
Zena Stenvik, Superintendent of Ramos’ Columbia Heights public school district, spoke with Liam’s mother on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, Liam’s health is not doing great right now,” Stenvik reported.
“He’s been ill. I’ve been told he has a fever.
So I’m very, very concerned about his well-being in that facility.”