5-year-old boy and father return to Minnesota after release from immigration custody
A 5-year-old boy who became a viral symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is back home after he and his father were released from a Texas immigration center on Saturday.
Liam Conejo Ramos was taken into custody with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, on January 20 after meeting with immigration agents upon their return from Liam’s preschool in Minnesota. The case sparked widespread condemnation and made international headlines as the image of Liam in his blue Spider-Man hat and backpack spread online.
The father and son were transferred to a facility in Texas, where representatives of Congress were able to visit them to check on them. Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas told PBS News on Friday that Liam wasn’t eating well and “he was very depressed.”
Castro wrote in an article on X Sunday that he picked up the father and son Saturday evening and drove them back to Minnesota Sunday morning.
“Liam is home now,” Castro said. “With his hat and backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won’t stop until all the children and families come home.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also posted a photo of herself with Liam, his father and Castro on her social media. She expressed gratitude to Castro for returning to Minneapolis with father and son.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery said in a scathing court order Saturday that the Trump administration must release Liam and his father by Tuesday.
“Observation of human behavior confirms that for some of us, the treacherous thirst for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its pursuit knows no bounds and is devoid of human decency,” Biery wrote in his order, referring to the boy’s detention. “And to hell with the rule of law. »
Marc Prokosch, the attorney representing the family, said they entered the United States in 2023 after making an appointment through the CBP One app, which was created under the Biden administration to create an orderly way for migrants to enter the United States and reduce illegal border crossings.
“They were following all established protocols, pursuing their asylum application, showing up for their court hearings and posing no risk to their safety or flight. They should never have been detained,” Prokosch said.
The Department of Homeland Security said it was conducting a “targeted operation” to arrest Conejo Arias on January 20, when Liam was also taken into custody. DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin defended the agents’ actions, describing Liam as having been “abandoned” and saying the child’s mother refused several attempts to seek custody of him, even after agents assured her she would not be arrested.
Liam’s father agreed to keep his son with him, the ministry said.
Liam’s mother denied Homeland Security’s account of events, saying federal agents tried to use her son as “bait” to get her out of the house.
Erika Ramos tearfully told Telemundo that officers asked her son to knock on the door and tell him to come out, but she was afraid she would be arrested and her other child would be left alone.
“When I didn’t open the door, they took Liam to the ICE van,” she said. “It all felt like an attempt to provoke me, as if they wanted me to desperately run for my son so they could arrest me too. »
Her husband insisted she stay inside to avoid arrest and protect their family, Ramos said, “like any responsible husband and father.”
School board President Mary Granlund told reporters last week that she was on her way to pick up her own children that day when she saw what was happening at home. She said she saw Liam’s mother inside and heard her husband shouting that she should not open the door, fearing immigration officers would come inside.
Granlund said someone told him a district representative was there and could take responsibility for Liam.
“There was ample opportunity to safely place this child in the care of adults,” Granlund said.
