Vice President JD Vance confirmed Thursday that a five-year-old boy was among those detained by federal agents during a massive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, stirring outrage in the northern city and across the US.As “the father of a five-year-old” himself, Vance acknowledged he was stunned by news of the child’s predicament at first.”I think to myself ‘Oh, my God, this is terrible. How did we arrest a five-year-old?'” Vance said Thursday, pivoting to say he then did more research and changed his mind because Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained the child after his father ran from immigration agents.”Well, what are they supposed to do? Are they supposed to let a five-year-old child freeze to death?”More broadly, Vance blamed local leaders for disorder on a visit to the troubled midwestern state, which has been rocked by increasingly tense protests since federal agents shot and killed US citizen Renee Good on January 7.The child’s detention came as the US attorney general announced Thursday the arrests of three activists accused of disrupting a St. Paul church service in a protest, accusing a pastor at the church of working for ICE.Thousands of federal agents have been deployed to the Democratic-led state, as the Trump administration presses its campaign to deport what it says are millions of illegal immigrants across the country.The arrests of lawyer and social activist Nekima Levy Armstrong, Chauntyll Louisa Allen and William Kelly in connection with a Sunday protest at Cities Church in the state capital St. Paul, were announced by Attorney General Pam Bondi on X.Bondi said Armstrong “allegedly played a key role in organizing the coordinated attack on Cities Church.” Videos of that protest showed dozens of demonstrators chanting “ICE out!” in the church.Amid growing local anger over the use of pepper spray, tear gas and other forceful tactics adopted by ICE in the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Vance defended the conduct of ICE and called on protesters to be peaceful.”Yes, protest. Protest me. Protest our immigration policy, but do it peacefully. If you assault a law enforcement officer the Trump administration and the Department of Justice is going to prosecute you,” Vance said, flanked by ICE officers and vehicles.- Plight of a 5-year-old -The latest uproar over ICE’s tactics has been over the ICE detention on Tuesday of a five-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father — one of at least four children detained in the same Minneapolis school district this month, according to administrators, local media have reported.Ramos and his father are now held in San Antonio, Texas, in the custody of Homeland Security authorities, the family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, was quoted as saying by The Washington Post. Prokosch said they are not US citizens but have followed the legal process in applying for asylum, in Minneapolis which is a sanctuary city, meaning police do not cooperate with federal immigration sweeps.Vance claimed such local efforts were hindering ICE efforts.”The lack of cooperation between state and local officials makes it harder for us to do our job and turns up the temperature,” Vance said.Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey told a news conference that he agreed with Vance that people should protest peacefully.But he complained that the influx of 3,000 federal agents in the city felt like an “occupation” and that agents were “terrorizing people,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reported Thursday.Minnesota has sought a temporary restraining order for the ICE operation in the state which, if granted by a federal judge, would pause the sweeps. There will be a hearing on the application Monday.The officer who fired the shots that killed Good, Jonathan Ross, has neither been suspended nor charged with any crime. Trump and his officials quickly defended his actions as being legitimately made in self-defense.The federal immigration sweeps in Minneapolis have occurred amid a highly politicized fraud investigation in Minnesota.

Progressive white women have been persistent punching bags of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement, but attacks targeting the demographic group have become particularly vicious in recent weeks.The death of Renee Good, a 37-year-old American woman killed by a federal agent while protesting Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, has prompted harsh comments against her by numerous conservative commentators.Radio host Erick Erickson coined an acronym to describe Good — “AWFUL,” or Affluent White Female Urban Liberal.”White liberal women are a cancer on the nation. They have no real problems, so they’re bored” and take on other people’s fights, right-wing comedian Vincent Oshana wrote on X.”They just want to feel important.”Columnist David Marcus meanwhile derisively referred to women activists, like Good, protesting against Trump’s immigration actions as “organized gangs of wine moms.”- Women’s suffrage a ‘tragedy’ -The attacks come amid a dual offensive on the American right — against modern feminism and placing renewed value on masculinity.Some right-wing players, particularly Christian nationalists, have for years called for a rethink of the role of women in modern society, even demanding the end of the constitutional right to vote.The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution “has been a moral and political tragedy for America,” firebrand pastor Dale Partridge said in a video last month.”Why? Women were not made to lead, but to follow and to feel.”Juliet Williams, a gender studies professor at University of California Los Angeles, said such comments are typical of a patriarchal worldview that requires men to “understand themselves as inherently superior.”Trump’s administration has meanwhile sought to portray a masculine persona — typified by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who frequently posts videos doing push-ups with soldiers.Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently praised Trump’s testosterone levels, saying that another official called them “the highest” he has seen for someone over 70.In this ideology, Williams said, “hatred of white liberal women is really necessary” because they challenge the ideals of the Christian right.Women in general favored the Democratic candidate in the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections — but majorities of white women actually voted for Trump, according to Pew Research polling.Several studies suggest a growing divergence among younger voters.Gen Z women largely identify as progressive, while young men — an important demographic in Trump’s latest victory — increasingly lean right.Williams said attacks on women Democratic voters could be aimed at influencing young women who “are more aware than ever of how closely their social value is indexed on looking a certain way.”- ‘Just hotter’ -The women who gravitate around Trump’s White House usually wear stylish clothes, high heels, have long wavy hair, and wear heavy makeup. Botox and filler are not rare.Katie Miller — a podcaster and wife of Stephen Miller, one of the US president’s most influential advisers — openly mocks what she considers to be the unattractive and unkempt appearance of left-wing women.”Conservative women are just hotter than Liberal women,” she wrote on X, claiming that was the reason conservative families have more children.The Millers recently announced they are expecting their fourth child, as did Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt is also pregnant with her second child.