A two‑year‑old girl and her father were taken into custody by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis on January 22 amid heightened tensions around immigration enforcement in the region, NBC Chicago reported.
The girl’s father, identified as Elvis Joel Tipan‑Echeverria, and his daughter, Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis, were stopped in south Minneapolis as they returned from a grocery store, according to Minneapolis City Council member Jason Chavez, who posted details on social media.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that the father was taken into custody and that he had a child with him at the time of the arrest.
Chavez’s post also alleged that a vehicle followed the family’s car and that ICE agents broke a window, with no judicial warrant presented at the scene.
‘Girl’s father is an undocumented immigrant’
The Department of Homeland Security stated that Tipan‑Echeverria is an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador who had previously reentered the US after removal, an offence the agency characterised as felony re-entry.
The DHS also said that law enforcement officials tried to hand the child to her mother during the arrest but that she “refused,” leading agents to remain with the child.
The agency added that the father had driven erratically, and that authorities took custody after he did not comply with commands.
Girl later returned to her mother
Legal advocates for the family quickly filed an emergency habeas corpus petition saying the father and daughter were taken without a warrant and in spite of an ongoing asylum claim. A judge subsequently ordered the toddler’s release and she was reunited with her mother after being flown back to Minnesota. Tipan‑Echeverria, however, remains in federal custody as immigration proceedings continue, News Channel 3-12 reported.
Another 5-year-old child detained
The development comes days after a five-year-old child was detained by ICE agents in Minnesota, which sparked significant outrage among people.
School officials and the child’s family lawyer said the boy was arriving home from pre-school when he was detained by federal agents, along with his father, who is alleged to be an undocumented immigrant. The father and his child were reportedly taken to a detention facility in Texas.
School officials had accused ICE of using the boy as “bait,” adding that the family had an active asylum case and had not been ordered to leave the country.