ICE detains 4 Columbia Heights students, including 5- and 10-year-olds sent to Texas

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.

“Twenty minutes after Liam and his father were taken, the middle school brother came home to a missing dad, a missing little brother, and a terrified mother. Columbia Academy Principal Leslee Sherk and Valley View Elementary Principal Jason Kuhlman were also at the house to provide support to the family. This family is following U.S. legal parameters and has an active asylum case with no order of deportation. I have viewed the legal paperwork with my own eyes. Why detain a 5-year-old? You cannot tell me that this child is going to be classified as a violent criminal.”

Marc Prokosch, an immigration lawyer for the family, indicated that the 5-year-old boy and his father have both been transferred to a Texas detention center.

On top of that, Stenvik said a 10-year-old fourth-grader was taken by ICE agents while she was on her way to a Columbia Heights elementary school with her mother.

“During the arrest, the child called her father to tell him the ICE agents were bringing her to school. The father immediately came to the school to find that both his daughter and wife had been taken. By the end of the school day, they were already in a detention center in Texas, and they are still there,” Stenvik said.

Stenvik said a 17-year-old Columbia Heights High School student and her mother were detained after ICE agents allegedly “pushed their way” into an apartment.

ICE has remained active in the area, including pulling a vehicle up to the high school loading dock during the middle of the school day on Wednesday. Video posted online shows the federal agents in action.

“ICE agents have been roaming our neighborhoods, circling our schools, following our buses, coming into our parking lots and taking our kids,” Stenik said. “The sense of safety in our community and around our schools is shaken and our hearts are shattered.”

Matt Markham, the chief of police in Columbia Heights, told Bring Me The News that he’s aware of the incident involving the 5-year-old and “of another one involving a teenager,” but he does not have specific information “as ICE typically does not communicate their activity to us.”

Bring Me The News has reached out to Homeland Security in an effort to learn more about the detainments.

This story was originally published by Bring Me The News on Jan 22, 2026, where it first appeared in the MN News section. Add Bring Me The News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.