Toddler Detained by ICE Sparks Outrage in Minneapolis Immigration Crackdown
2-year-old girl taken into custody with father during routine drive home.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) faces fresh criticism after detaining a 2-year-old girl and her father in Minneapolis on Thursday. Elvis Joel Tipan-Echeverria and his daughter Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis were stopped while returning from a grocery store. According to the family’s attorney and local officials, agents allegedly followed their vehicle, smashed a car window, and took them into custody without presenting a judicial warrant. The pair was flown to a detention facility in Texas, despite a court order mandating the child’s immediate release. Chloe was freed on Friday afternoon and is now recovering.
The Department of Homeland Security defended the action, describing Tipan-Echeverria as an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador with a prior felony reentry conviction. Officials claimed he drove erratically, refused to comply with commands to open his door or window, and resisted arrest. When agents attempted to hand the child to her mother who was nearby, she reportedly refused. The father and daughter were later reunited at the federal facility. A crowd of around 120 people gathered, blocking agents and throwing rocks and garbage cans, prompting crowd control measures.
This incident marks the latest in a string of controversial child detentions under the ongoing Operation Metro Surge. The large-scale enforcement effort, launched in December 2025 and costing taxpayers approximately $18 million per week, targets the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area with about 3,000 federal agents—the largest such deployment in US history. Just days earlier, a 5-year-old boy in Minnesota was taken into custody along with his father after agents reportedly used the child to knock on the family’s door while apprehending the parent. DHS insisted ICE does not target children and that parents can choose removal with their kids or placement with designated guardians.
Also Read: Senate Democrats Threaten Shutdown Over Minneapolis ICE Shootings
Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez condemned the incident on social media, calling it a “kidnapping.” The cases have intensified debate over President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, with critics highlighting the trauma inflicted on young children. Advocates argue such enforcement tactics endanger families and violate due process, while officials maintain they target individuals with criminal records or immigration violations.
The repeated involvement of toddlers in high-profile arrests has renewed calls for oversight of ICE operations amid the sweeping Metro Surge campaign.
Also Read: 5-Year-Old Boy Detained by ICE in Minnesota Immigration Operation
