CNN's Sara Sidner knocked down the essential claim made by Vice President JD Vance to justify the detention of a 5-year-old boy by immigration agents.
Liam Conejo Ramos was removed from the family’s running car Tuesday after returning home from preschool with his father and used as bait to lure other family members outside during a raid in Minnesota, according to school officials, but the vice president visited the area Thursday and defended the agents' actions.
“So the story is that ICE detained a five-year-old? Well, what are they supposed to do?” Vance said, flanked by ICE officers and Border Patrol agents. “Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death? Are they not supposed to arrest an illegal alien in the United States of America?”
However, Sidner said in a live report from Minneapolis, there are conflicting reports about the incident.
"Weheard from both JD Vance, whomade certain statements, and thelawyer who refuted hisstatements, as well as schoolofficials, one of whom happenedto be coming home from school,saw the commotion, went over andwitnessed what she saidhappened," Sidner said. "She said, look, as shewas watching all this go down,there were certainly peoplethere that could have taken thischild other than ICE."
Mary Granlund, the Columbia Heights school board chair, told reporters that she offered to take Liam Conejo Ramos back to school until his mother, who was inside the home but afraid to open the door to ICE agents, could come get him.
"The five year old child wasnever in danger of freezing todeath," Sidner said. "There were schoolofficials there who said thatthey were happy to take him tothe safe place, back to school.There was a mother just behindthe door. They knew that who wastoo afraid to open it for fearthat ICE was going to take her.But this idea that this childwas just left outside, was goingto be left outside to freeze todeath, is just simply not true.What is true is that this hasagain riled folks here, seeingthis image of this little boy, Liam, in his little backpack,being taken away by masked ICEagents, it is really gottenpeople emotional, including themayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey."