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Vance explained that the truth was far different from the narrative being pushed.
“Well, I do a little bit more follow-up research,” Vance continued, “and what I find is that the five-year-old was not arrested — that his dad was an illegal alien, and then when they went to arrest his illegal alien father, the father ran.”
“So the story is that ‘ICE detained a five-year-old.’ Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death?”
According to federal officials, ICE agents encountered the child during the arrest of his father, not as the target of enforcement. The boy was taken into protective custody alongside his parent as officers followed standard procedure.
Despite those facts, school officials and left-wing activists quickly escalated the incident into a political flashpoint.
Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik accused ICE agents of using the child to gain entry to the family’s home, claiming another adult present “begged” officers to let them take custody of the boy. Stenvik alleged the child was “essentially used as bait.”
An immigration attorney representing the family, Marc Prokosch, claimed the father is not an illegal alien but an asylum seeker from Ecuador who entered the U.S. using the Biden-era CBP One app.
“So they did everything right when they came in,” Prokosch claimed at a Thursday press conference. “They used the app, they made an appointment, they came to the border and presented themselves to Customs and Border Patrol. They were following the process. But ICE didn’t care about the fact that they had those pending claims and then just arrested them.”
Prokosch further argued that immigration violations are civil matters and accused ICE of violating internal policy.
“You can’t justify incarcerating a child for a civil violation — and that’s not even accurate here, because they entered lawfully through the CBP One program,” he said.
What Prokosch did not address is the growing body of evidence showing widespread abuse of the CBP One system. Federal data and court records reveal thousands of migrants who entered using the app later skipped required hearings or disappeared entirely into the interior of the country.
ICE has repeatedly stated that entry through CBP One does not grant immunity from enforcement, especially if individuals fail to comply with court orders or violate release conditions.
ICE declined to comment on specifics of the Columbia Heights case but issued a statement saying officers “conduct targeted enforcement actions in accordance with federal law and policy” and that “children encountered during enforcement operations are treated with the utmost care.”
As demonstrations continue across the Twin Cities, the case has become a rallying cry for immigration activists determined to portray enforcement as cruel and indiscriminate.
Vance rejected that framing, arguing that the rule of law cannot be optional.
“You can’t have a country without borders,” Vance said. “You can’t have justice if the law doesn’t apply to everyone.”
With immigration once again at the center of the national debate, the Minnesota incident highlights a familiar pattern. Emotional headlines race ahead of the facts, activists amplify worst-case narratives, and the media follows along, even when the truth tells a very different story.
Under President Trump and Vice President Vance, the administration appears intent on enforcing immigration law consistently, even as critics attempt to turn every enforcement action into a political weapon.
