A viral lie exploded across social media this week: that ICE agents callously used a terrified 5-year-old as “bait” to capture his father. The truth could not be more damning to the activists and politicians who spread it.
Homeland Security’s Enforcement and Removal Operations chief, Marcos Charles, left no room for doubt. When agents moved to arrest Ecuadorian national Adrian Conejo Arias in Columbia Heights, MN, the father bolted—abandoning his son in the family car.
One ICE officer immediately remained with the child. The rest of the team secured Arias on a targeted operation, then returned to the home. No one answered the door to care for the boy.
DHS investigators found the door bolted from inside. The child’s mother, under her husband’s instructions, refused to let officers in. Far from “bait,” ICE agents were forced into an impossible choice.
After hours of fruitless waiting, Arias himself asked to be detained alongside his son. Both are now in a secure ICE facility in Texas, where they will await further proceedings.
This case exposes a pattern fostered by the Biden administration: release dangerous, law-breaking migrants, only to watch them disappear into our communities. Arias should never have been on the streets to begin with.
Meanwhile, left-wing activists and Democratic operatives have hurled every emotional cudgel at ICE, even dubbing federal agents “monsters” for doing their sworn duty. Their deceitful campaign reveals a contempt for rule of law and public safety.
Republicans demand accountability. We will not allow political theater to thwart border security and interior enforcement. Our laws exist to protect American citizens, and they will be enforced without apology.
The American people deserve an immigration system that upholds sovereignty, deters illegal entry, and swiftly removes those who defy our laws. Anything less is a betrayal of our national interests.
It’s time for bold, unambiguous action—no more catch-and-release, no more sanctuary theater, and no more exploitation of children for partisan gain. The rule of law must prevail.
