Two-year-old Minnesota girl
Synopsis
On 22 January 2026, federal immigration agents detained a two-year-old girl and her father in Minneapolis as they returned home from the store. According to court records and the family's lawyers, agents entered the backyard and driveway without a warrant; one agent allegedly broke the glass window of the father's car while the girl was inside. The mother was at the door, but agents refused to allow the father to bring his daughter to her or to other family members inside the home. The toddler and her father were placed in an agent's vehicle that did not have a car seat. A federal judge issued an order that evening requiring the government to release the girl and prohibiting her transfer out of Minnesota, citing "risk of irreparable harm." The government instead placed both father and daughter on a flight to a Texas detention center. After national outcry and legal efforts, immigration officials flew the girl back to Minnesota and released her into her mother's custody. Her father remained detained in Minnesota. The family's attorney called the episode "depravity beyond words." The case came two days after ICE detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Minnesota.
Key takeaways
From court records, news reporting, and linked sources below.
- Federal agents detained a two-year-old girl and her father in Minneapolis on 22 January 2026 when they were returning home from the store.
- Agents entered the backyard and driveway without a warrant; one agent allegedly broke the car window while the girl was inside; the vehicle used to transport her had no car seat.
- The mother was at the door but agents refused to let the father hand his daughter to her or to family inside the home.
- A federal judge ordered the girl released by 9:30 p.m. and barred transfer out of Minnesota; the government instead put both on a flight to Texas.
- The girl was later flown back to Minnesota and released to her mother; her father remained in detention.
- The father, from Ecuador, has a pending asylum application and no final order of removal; the girl had lived in Minneapolis since arriving in the U.S. as a newborn.
- DHS described the operation as 'targeted enforcement' and claimed the mother 'refused' to take the child; the family's lawyers said that was false and that agents would not allow the father to return the girl to her mother.
- The family's lawyers have urged the court to bar out-of-state transfers for at least seven days after detainees can contact counsel, and to block transfers for people with pending habeas petitions.
- The case followed ICE's detention of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Minnesota two days earlier, part of a broader crackdown in the region.
- The family's attorney stated: 'The depravity of all of this is beyond words' and 'There has to be an end to this type of cruelty.'
Reference links
Related
Detention facility
Dilley Immigration Processing Center→