In a disturbing incident that has sent shockwaves through the community, federal immigration agents in Minneapolis have been accused of detaining a two-year-old girl and her father in a manner that has been described as “depravity beyond words.”
The incident occurred on Thursday, January 22nd, when the father, identified as Elvis Joel TE, and his young daughter were returning home from the store. According to court records and the family’s lawyers, federal agents entered the family’s backyard and driveway area without a warrant, and one agent allegedly broke the glass window of the father’s car while the child was inside.
The mother, who was by the door, stepped inside the house as the agents approached, but they reportedly refused to allow the father to bring his daughter to the mother or other family members waiting inside the home. The two-year-old and her father were then placed in an immigration agent’s vehicle, which did not have a car seat.
Lawyers for the family filed an emergency petition, and a Minnesota-based federal judge issued an order prohibiting the government from transferring the pair out of the state and ordering the immediate release of the girl into the custody of one of the family’s attorneys. However, the government allegedly placed the father and daughter on a flight to Texas around 8:30 pm, despite the judge’s order.
The family’s lawyers have strongly condemned the actions of the immigration authorities, with Irina Vaynerman, one of the lawyers, stating that “the horror is truly unimaginable” and that “the depravity of all of this is beyond words.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has claimed that the father, who has a pending asylum application and no final order of removal, was “driving erratically with a child” and that agents “attempted to give the child to the mother who was in the area, but she refused.” However, the family’s lawyers have refuted this, stating that the agents would not let the father return his daughter to the home to be with her mother.
This incident comes just two days after the detention of a five-year-old boy, Liam Ramos, in Minnesota, which has already sparked international backlash and increased scrutiny of the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on immigration in the region.
The family’s lawyers have urged the court to issue a broader order blocking the government from transferring individuals out of Minnesota for at least seven days after they are given an opportunity to contact legal counsel, and to bar out-of-state transfers for people with pending habeas petitions.
Vaynerman has described the lack of humanity in the government’s actions as “truly unimaginable” and has called for an end to this “type of cruelty.” The case has sparked outrage and concern among the community, who are demanding answers and accountability for the treatment of this young child and her father.
