Bovino rejects criticism over detained 5-year-old, claims agents are trained to deal with children

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino forcefully defended Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the detention of a 5-year-old boy and his father in Minnesota this week, insisting that federal agents were trained and experienced in handling encounters involving children.

The comments came as protests grew across the Twin Cities over ICE’s enforcement actions and renewed scrutiny fell on the agency’s conduct during arrests involving families.

Border Patrol chief responds to backlash over child detention

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Bovino addressed questions surrounding the detention of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias who were taken into custody after returning home from the child’s preschool earlier this week.

“I will say unequivocally that we are experts in dealing with children,” Bovino said. “Let me say that again, experts in dealing with children, not because we want to be, but because we have to be.”

The detentions occurred amid a broader immigration enforcement push in the Minneapolis area under the Trump administration, which had drawn fierce opposition from local officials, school leaders and community groups.

Bovino pushed back strongly against reports suggesting that the child had been separated from his family, calling those accounts inaccurate.

“That 5-year-old remains with his family,” he said. “Let me say that again: remains with his family. We know that that false media narrative that was pushed out yesterday was, well, it was false.”

In defending the agency’s handling of children, Bovino cited a July operation in Southern California in which ICE agents recovered minors during raids on cannabis farms.

“How about the 14 that we recovered at that pot farm a few months ago in Camarillo, California?” Bovino said.

“The 14 lost children t********d across the border that were found working illegally on a pot farm in California. Very little reporting from the Minneapolis news media here. I didn’t really hear much from you guys,” he claimed.

He argued that such cases demonstrated why agents needed to be prepared to encounter children during enforcement operations.

uring his remarks, Bovino also repeated a claim frequently cited by Republicans, accusing the Biden administration of losing “300,000 children” to t********g across the southern border.

Gregory Bovino vows to continue ICE operations 

Despite growing demonstrations and criticism from local leaders, Bovino made it clear that federal immigration agents will not withdraw from Minneapolis.

“That is what we‘re here to do and we‘re not going to be deterred in doing that,” he said. “We are going to take these criminal, illegal aliens off the street and make America a safer place, make Minneapolis a safer place again, that is why we‘re here.”

As protests continue, the detention of Ramos has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over ICE’s tactics particularly when enforcement actions intersect with schools and young children.

District officials said Ramos is at least the fourth child in the neighborhood to be detained by ICE in recent weeks.