The brutality of immigration enforcement reached a chilling new low in Minnesota this week when federal agents used a five-year-old child as "bait" to lure his family out of their home, sparking outrage across the US and beyond.

Liam Ramos, a preschooler who had just celebrated his fifth birthday, was detained alongside his father in their driveway in Columbia Heights. But it was the manner of the arrest that has left the community reeling. According to school superintendent Zena Stenvik, agents forced the terrified child to knock on his own front door to trick relatives into opening it.

"A Five-Year-Old as Bait"

"They took Liam out of the car, led him to the door, and directed him to knock," Stenvik revealed in an emotional press conference. "They were essentially using a five-year-old as bait to see if anyone else was home."

• The Family: The Ramos family had entered the US legally at a port of entry and had an active asylum case. They were not "illegals" hiding in the shadows; they were following the rules.
• The Impact: Liam is the fourth student in the district to be snatched by ICE in just two weeks, part of a "surge" enforcement strategy that is tearing families apart with military precision.

Despite pleas from a relative inside the house to take custody of the boy, the agents refused, whisking both father and son to a detention center in Texas. Liam’s older brother, a middle schooler, returned home minutes later to find an empty driveway and a shattered life.

"You cannot tell me a five-year-old is a violent criminal," Stenvik stated, her voice trembling with indignation. It is a question that demands an answer, not just from Washington, but from a world watching the erosion of basic humanity.