DHS says child in Minnesota was ‘abandoned’ by father, not targeted by ICE

to divide Internal security He said the child, who Minnesota Democrats claimed was targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had actually been “abandoned” during the immigration enforcement process.

After Democrats, including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., shared a photo of a 5-year-old boy online and claimed he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement while returning home from preschool, the White House responded in a statement to Fox News Digital. White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson condemned what the Trump administration sees as the mainstream media working “hand in hand with Democrats to spread malicious lies about ICE operations.”

“It is shameful that the media could jump so quickly with the false Democratic narrative without getting the facts first,” Jackson said. “This is the truth: ICE officers work heroically and with the utmost professionalism to make American communities safer. In this case, they resided with a child who had been abandoned by his father — an illegal alien from Ecuador.”

“The media’s lies have consequences — assaults on ICE officers have increased by 1,300% due to serious defamation against them by elected Democrats amplified by the press,” she added. “Not only is the Trump Administration removing dangerous illegal aliens from the country, but we are also locating countless migrant children that Joe Biden went missing. Thanks to the administration’s efforts, more than 120,000 children have been located.”

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The photo shows a young child standing next to a vehicle during an ICE operation. (Columbia Heights Public Schools)

The comments come as a photo circulates online showing a young boy wearing a bunny-shaped winter hat standing next to a black car, with an adult’s hand on his backpack.

Federal agents took the boy from a car while it was in the family’s driveway Tuesday afternoon, said Zina Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools.

The child, who was at the time returning home from preschool, was sent with his father to a detention center in Texas. The Associated Press reported, Citing school officials and the family’s attorney.

“No child was targeted by ICE. The child was abandoned.” Internal security he wrote on X on Thursday. “On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an illegal alien from Ecuador released to the United States by the Biden Administration.”

“When agents approached the driver, Adrian Alexander Conejo-Arias fled on foot, abandoning his child. For the child’s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers arrested Conejo-Arias,” she added.

DHS also said: “Parents are being asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person designated by the parent. This is consistent with immigration enforcement actions imposed by the previous administration.”

In another post, DHS wrote: “Our officer made multiple attempts to get the mother into the home to have custody of her child. The officers even assured her that they would not take her into custody. She refused to accept custody of the child. The father told the officers that he wanted the child to stay with him. Our officers’ primary concern during the entire process was the safety and well-being of the child. After the mother relinquished the child, the officers adhered to the father’s wishes to keep the child with him. Father and son together in Dilley [Immigration Processing Center]”.

The Department of Homeland Security said the child whose detention in Minnesota this week was reported to federal immigration agents had been “abandoned” by his father and was not targeted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. (Columbia Heights Public Schools)

The family has an active asylum case and has not been asked to leave the country, Stenvik said. The school official claimed that the officers asked the child to knock on his door to see if there were other people inside.

“Why is a 5-year-old being detained?” Stenvik was quoted as saying, according to the Associated Press. “You can’t tell me this kid is going to be labeled a violent criminal.”

The boy and his father were detained A family holds a prison cell in TexasMark Prokosch, the family’s attorney, said during a news conference on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press.

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Minnesota Democrats condemned the incident.

“Minnesotans want safety. They want freedom. They want what’s best for our children. Masked agents snatching preschoolers off the streets and sending them to Texas detention centers serves none of those purposes,” Walz wrote on X. Thursday. “This revenge campaign must stop.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said Thursday: “This campaign of revenge must stop.” (Jerry Holt/Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement just detained a 5-year-old. Don’t tell us it’s about ‘the worst of the worst.’ That’s a lie. Absolutely despicable,” Omar said the day before.

Hillary Clinton also wrote on Thursday the 10th: “Law enforcement is one thing. Terrorizing the population, using children as pawns, is another.”

In response, ICE’s X account Then he responded, telling Clinton: “That’s a complete lie.”

She added: “The child was abandoned by his father, a criminal illegal alien from Ecuador, who fled from our officers. Our officers made sure the child was safe. Does your heart also ache for the thousands of families who lost loved ones to violent, criminal illegal alien killers? You have not tweeted about those angel families once.”

The boy is the fourth student from Columbia Heights Public Schools to be detained by ICE in recent weeks, according to Stenvik.

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Columbia Heights Public Schools told Fox News Digital that it will hold a press conference “regarding immigration enforcement actions involving students” at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.