ICE's ERO chief Marcos Charles disputed claims that agents targeted a 5-year-old during a Minneapolis-area enforcement action, saying the child was abandoned by his father and was cared for by officers. Charles said officers tried to reunite the child with family, and that the parent and child were processed together and placed in a family residential center pending proceedings. He also condemned a separate incident in St. Paul where protesters stormed a church — calling it a riot — and noted arrests announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi.
ICE Pushes Back After Viral Photo — Says 5-Year-Old Was Abandoned, Calls St. Paul Church Storming a Riot
A young child stands beside a vehicle during an ICE operation.(Fox News)
A senior official at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday rejected what he called a "false narrative" about a viral photo showing a 5-year-old boy after a Minneapolis-area enforcement action, and criticized an anti-ICE group that recently stormed a church in St. Paul.
ICE and the Department of Homeland Security said the widely shared image showed a child who had been abandoned by his father during the operation, not a child targeted by federal agents. Marcos Charles, ICE’s Executive Assistant Director for Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), described officers’ actions to care for the boy and attempt to reunify him with family.
"One of our officers stayed behind with that child while other officers apprehended his father. After conducting the arrest, my officers stayed with the child. They cared for him. Took him to get something to eat from a drive-through restaurant and spent hours ensuring he was taken care of. Again, my officers did that, not his father," Charles said.
Charles said ICE personnel tried to return the child to relatives at the residence but that people inside initially refused to open the door and accept him. He identified the parent as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and said that, when the parent later consented, the parent and child were processed together and are currently reported to be in a family residential center pending immigration proceedings.
Federal authorities arrested Chauntyll Allen, leader of Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, left; William Kelly, center; and Nekima Levy-Armstrong, Racial Justice Network leader, right, after a mob invaded a St. Paul, Minn., church, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.
"We do everything in our power not to separate families," Charles added, emphasizing that officers made efforts to reunite the child with relatives and provided care while doing so.
Separately, Charles criticized the conduct of a group that stormed Cities Church in St. Paul earlier this week. Minnesota Attorney General Pam Bondi announced multiple arrests connected to the episode and named activist Nekima Levy Armstrong among those charged, saying she "allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota." Bondi's announcement describes alleged actions under investigation; those named face legal processes that have not concluded.
"Federal law protects the freedom of religion and the right to worship without interference. What these agitators did was not a peaceful protest. They rioted at church services. They screamed and harassed children. They denied Minnesotans the ability to worship peacefully," Charles said.
Charles, who said he has 33 years in law enforcement, called the incident an unusual and disturbing example of protesters targeting a sacred space and urged respect for places of worship. The events remain subject to ongoing investigation and, in the case of the church incident, criminal charges announced by state authorities.
Context and next steps: DHS and ICE statements aim to clarify the agency's account of the enforcement action and the officers’ handling of the child; prosecutors and law enforcement continue to investigate and pursue charges related to the St. Paul church incident. As with any developing story, some details may be updated as authorities release more information.
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