ICE agents are targeting children in Minnesota, including a 5-year-old boy (above) who was detained and used as “bait” by ICE, notes CBC News, and a 2-year-old girl (below) whom ICE sent to Texas in violation of a court order, reports the Star Tribune:
The father, Elvis Joel Tipan Echeverria, was detained near Powderhorn Park on Thursday, Jan. 22, while returning home from a grocery store with his daughter, according to lawyers for the family. Video circulating on social media appeared to show agents using chemical irritants and flash-bang devices as crowds gathered at the scene.
The attorneys filed an emergency motion seeking immediate release of the father and daughter. They said the two were asylum seekers who were pulled over without a warrant and did not have a final order for removal.
The case was quickly assigned to a judge, who signed an order for the toddler’s release at 8:10 p.m. Jan. 22, attorney Irina Vaynerman said.
Roughly 20 minutes later, the lawyers learned the child and her father had already been placed on the flight to Texas. They were transferred out of state within about eight hours of their detainment…
A 5-year-old boy in Columbia Heights was detained this week with his father and sent to a Texas facility in a case that’s drawn international attention and scrutiny. The preschooler is the fourth student in the Columbia Heights school district to be detained by agents, district officials said.
Then on Jan. 22, two students in the Hopkins school district were detained by ICE agents along with their parents, school leaders said.
Some of these kidnappings by ICE have been caught on video and posted on social media.
ICE chased another child down a street in Minneapolis and tackled him into the snow with a 25°F wind chill. The boy screamed “I am legal” as an agent pinned him down, handcuffed him, put him in the back of an unmarked SUV, and drove away. pic.twitter.com/G1QwrAg7ph
— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) January 23, 2026
(Sources: Star Tribune, X, CBC News)