Return to Minnesota After Detention
A five-year-old boy and his father, who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota, have returned home, according to a US congressman.
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, announced on Sunday that Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias had been released from a detention centre in Dilley, Texas, and had traveled back to Minneapolis.
Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack,
Castro said.
Public Reaction and Legal Intervention
The detainment of the pair sparked protests outside the detention facility where they were held and led to a national outcry. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated:
ICE did NOT target or arrest a child.
Their return home followed an emergency request granted by US District Judge Fred Biery, who ordered their release on Saturday.
The judge condemned their detention as driven by a "perfidious lust for unbridled power".
In his ruling, Biery wrote:
The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatising children.
Biery, appointed by former US President Bill Clinton, emphasized that deportations through the US immigration system should be conducted in a more orderly and humane manner than current policies allow.
Concerns Raised During Detention
While the father and son remained in the Texas detention centre, Congressman Castro shared on social media that the young boy was struggling being separated from his family, classmates, and home.
The DHS stated that the pair entered the US illegally, whereas the family's lawyer asserted they followed proper protocols to seek asylum.
On Sunday, the DHS told the BBC's US partner CBS News:
The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who have no right to be in this country.
Support from Minnesota Representatives
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Democrat and vocal critic of ICE, also posted on social media regarding the father and son's return.
Liam is home now and we are grateful to [Joaquin Castro] for traveling to Minneapolis with him and his dad. Welcome home Liam.
Shortly after Ramos and his son left the Texas detention centre, DHS announced that "all movement" at the centre had been halted after medical staff confirmed two detainees had "active measles infections".
Conflicting Accounts of ICE Operation
There have been differing reports about the ICE operation during which Ramos was first approached by agents.
Officials at the school Ramos attended stated that the boy had just arrived home from pre-school when an ICE agent asked him to knock on the door of the home to check if anyone else was present.
A school official said another adult living in the home offered to take the young boy inside but was refused.
School board member Mary Granlund, who was at the scene, told immigration officials she could take Ramos, but they still detained him.
ICE denied that the child had been detained in a post on X.
A criminal illegal alien ABANDONED his child as he fled from ICE officers, and our officers ensured the child was kept SAFE in the bitter cold.
ICE made multiple attempts to get the family inside the house to take custody of the child. They refused to accept custody of the child. The father told officers he wanted the child to remain with him.
US Vice-President JD Vance told reporters that ICE had no choice because "the father ran".
Legal Representation and Family's Asylum Claim
Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, stated that the father and son "did everything right" when they entered the US from Ecuador in 2024.
He explained that they entered the US at a port of entry to seek asylum, used the CBP One app, made an appointment, presented themselves to Customs and Border Protection, and shared all their information with the government.
This family was not eluding ICE in any way. They were following all the established protocols pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings and pose no safety, no flight risk, and never should have been detained.
