Minneapolis — Federal authorities denied trying to expedite the processing of asylum claims from the family of a 5-year-old boy who had been murdered. Detained with his father During the immigration crackdown that shook the Minneapolis area.
Photos of Liam Conejo Ramos wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack surrounded by immigration officers have sparked outrage On the crackdown.
Danielle Moliver, a lawyer for the boy and his father, told the New York Times that the government was trying to speed up deportation proceedings, calling the measures “extraordinary” and possibly “vindictive.”
The government denied this.
“These are standard deportation proceedings. They are not expedited deportations,” Tricia McLaughlin, a Department of Homeland Security official, said in a statement. “There is nothing retaliatory in the enforcement of the nation’s immigration laws.”
Moliver told the Times that an immigration judge, during a closed hearing on Friday, granted her additional time to argue the family’s case.
The family has been isolated pending their next hearing on Friday, according to Christine Stuenkel, spokeswoman for Liam’s district, Columbia Heights Public Schools.
The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, originally from Ecuador, were arrested in a Minneapolis suburb on January 20. The judge ordered their release From a detention center in Dilley, Texas, they returned to Minnesota on February 1.
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 in December 2024. However, the family’s attorney said the father entered legally using the CBP One application, and his pending asylum application allows him to remain in the United States.