Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were arrested by immigration officers in Minnesota and detained at an ICE facility in Texas, have been released after… The judge ordered He returned to Minnesota on Sunday, according to Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.
The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, originally from Ecuador, were taken into custody in a Minneapolis suburb on January 20. They were transferred to a detention center in Dilley, Texas.
Katherine Schneider, a spokeswoman for the Democratic congressman, confirmed that the two had arrived home. She said Castro picked them up from Dili on Saturday evening and drove them home to Minnesota on Sunday.
Images of immigration officers surrounding the little boy wearing a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack sparked outrage over the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minneapolis.
US Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security, Tricia McLaughlin, said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not target or arrest the boy, and repeated her assertions that his mother refused to take him in after his father was arrested. She said his father told officers he wanted Liam to be with him.
Neighbors and school officials accused federal immigration officers of drug use Preschool as “bait” By asking him to knock on his door until his mother comes out. The Department of Homeland Security has called this description of events an “absolute lie.” She added that the father fled on foot and left the boy in a speeding car on their way.
The government said the boy’s father entered the United States illegally from Ecuador in December 2024. The family’s attorney said he had a pending asylum application that would allow him to remain in the United States.
The Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review’s online court docket does not show any future hearings for Liam’s father.
The vast majority of asylum seekers are released into the United States, where adults are entitled to work permits, while their cases pass through a backlogged judicial system. Ecuadorians, who have left in large numbers in recent years as violence in their country escalated, fared poorly in immigration court, with judges granting asylum in 12.5% of decisions in the 12-month period through September, according to the Transactional Records Clearinghouse.
In ordering the release of Liam and his father, U.S. District Judge Fred Perry criticized the administration, writing: “The case is rooted in the government’s ill-considered and incompetently implemented pursuit of daily deportation quotas, even if that apparently entails harming the children.”
On Sunday afternoon, residents of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, gathered outside the house where Liam was being held to celebrate his release and draw attention to others in the community who remain in ICE custody.
“We cried a lot when we heard he was coming back,” said Lourdes Sanchez, owner of a cleaning company. “My son is also called Liam and he’s five, so it felt personal for us.”
Nearby, Luis Zona held up photos of his 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who he said was arrested with her mother, Rosa, as they drove to school on January 6. He said they were still being held in the same facility where Liam and his father were held.
“It’s the same situation as Liam, but there were no pictures,” said Carolina Gutierrez, who works as a secretary at the school where Elizabeth attended. “Seeing Liam released gives us faith.”
Inquiries to the Department of Homeland Security regarding this case were not immediately responded to.
Brenda Marquez, another nearby resident, said she drove home with her husband and two young children immediately after hearing the news of Liam’s release, stopping on the way to pick up Spider-Man balloons. “We wanted something that would bring a little happiness,” she said. “Being away from my son and not knowing what’s going on with him, I can’t imagine it.”
Castro wrote a letter to Liam while they were on the plane to Minnesota, telling the young boy that he had “moved the world.”
“Your family, your school, and many strangers have prayed for you and given everything they could to see you home,” Castro wrote. A photo of the letter was posted on the congressman’s social media accounts. “Don’t let anyone tell you that this is not your home. America became the most powerful and prosperous country on Earth because of immigrants, not in spite of them.”
Photos posted on Castro’s accounts showed Liam wearing his blue bunny hat and a Pikachu backpack.
US Senator Amy Klobuchar, One Minnesota Democrat welcomed the boy’s return to Minnesota, saying in a social media post that he “should be in school and with family — not in detention.” “Now ICE must leave,” the senator added.
US Representative Ilhan Omar, The Minnesota Democrat also posted a photo on social media of herself with Liam, his father and Castro carrying Liam’s Spider-Man backpack. “Welcome home Liam,” she wrote with two hearts.
In a statement, Columbia Heights Public Schools called Liam’s release an “important development,” one that school officials hope will have positive developments for four other Columbia Heights students detained at the same facility in Texas.
___
Dora reported from Bismarck, North Dakota. Associated Press writers Jake Aufenhartz in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed.