Federal immigration agents detained a two-year-old girl and her father in Minneapolis on Thursday, sparking outrage over child safety and family separation. The pair was transported to Texas despite a federal judge ordering the girl’s release by 9:30 p.m., according to court records and family lawyers. The father, identified as Elvis Joel TE, and his daughter were stopped around 1 p.m. while returning from a store. Agents entered their property, and one allegedly broke the father’s car window while the toddler was inside. The girl’s mother was nearby, but officers did not allow the father to hand over the child. Lawyers described the detention as a terrifying ordeal. The child and father were placed in a vehicle without a car seat and flown to a Texas detention center, according to court filings. Family lawyer Irina Vaynerman said the toddler was eventually returned to Minnesota and reunited with her mother. The father, however, remains in custody in Minnesota. Vaynerman called the situation “horrific” and said the “depravity of all of this is beyond words.” The incident comes just two days after US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained five-year-old Liam Ramos in Minnesota, drawing international criticism and increasing scrutiny of the administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement. Minnesota lawyers filed an emergency petition demanding the release of the father and daughter. A federal judge issued an order at 8:10 p.m. prohibiting ICE from transferring them out of the state. A second order directed that the toddler be released into the temporary custody of a family lawyer authorized by her mother. The judge emphasized the child had no criminal history and that the release was necessary to prevent irreparable harm. Despite the order, the government placed the father and daughter on a flight to Texas around 8:30 p.m., according to court filings. The father, originally from Ecuador, has a pending asylum application and no final order of removal. The toddler has lived in Minneapolis since birth. Lawyers criticized the government for transferring detainees out of state, calling it a tactic to limit families’ access to courts and legal counsel. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson described the action as part of a “targeted enforcement operation.” DHS called the father an “illegal immigrant,” alleging he had reentered the US unlawfully and was “driving erratically with a child.” The agency claimed the father refused to open his door or hand over the child, saying agents attempted to give her to the mother, who allegedly refused. Lawyers said this claim was false. DHS also stated that crowd control measures were used as a small group gathered outside during the detention. Videos on social media showed chemical irritants and flash-bang devices being deployed. DHS said the father and daughter were “reunited [at] a federal facility” but did not acknowledge that the toddler had since been returned to her mother. Vaynerman said the case shows the long-term trauma such detentions can cause young children. She criticized DHS for moving detainees out of state and making legal representation harder to access. “This is creating terror in our city and state,” she said. The family’s attorneys are seeking broader court orders to prevent out-of-state transfers for at least seven days after detainees contact legal counsel. They also want to block transfers for individuals with pending legal challenges to their detention. Vaynerman described the treatment of toddlers and children in ICE custody as “truly unimaginable” and called for an end to these practices. The case has reignited debate over US immigration enforcement and the treatment of children during detention, raising questions about compliance with court orders and child protection standards.