A five-year-old boy detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during raids in Minneapolis is reportedly suffering from illness and depression while being held at a family detention centre in Texas. Liam Conejo Ramos was apprehended from his driveway in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, last week as he returned home from school, an incident that has drawn widespread condemnation and raised serious questions about immigration enforcement practices.
Health Concerns and Detention Conditions
Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, are currently detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, near San Antonio. This facility has faced previous allegations of civil rights abuses against migrants in court documents. The boy's mother, Erika Ramos, has expressed deep concern about the conditions inside the centre, stating that her son's health is deteriorating due to poor quality food.
'Liam is getting sick because the food they receive is not of good quality,' she told Minnesota Public Radio. 'He has stomach pain, he's vomiting, he has a fever and he no longer wants to eat.'
Political Response and Facility Visit
Democratic Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, both from Texas, visited the father and son at the detention facility to witness their situation firsthand. During their half-hour meeting on Wednesday, Castro reported that Liam slept throughout in his father's arms and did not wake up.
Castro emphasised in a video message that while Liam's condition wasn't an emergency, the boy's father had described significant behavioural changes. 'His dad said that he hasn't been himself, he's been sleeping a lot because he's depressed and sad,' Castro shared. The representative also noted that Liam has been asking about his mother and classmates, expressing a desire to return to school.
Controversial Arrest and Conflicting Accounts
The circumstances of Liam's arrest have become particularly contentious. School officials initially accused federal immigration officers of using the preschooler as 'bait' by having him knock on his door so his mother would answer. However, Department of Homeland Security officials have vehemently denied this characterization, calling it an 'abject lie.'
Instead, DHS claims that the boy's father fled on foot as agents approached, 'abandoning his child' in a running vehicle in their driveway. 'For the child's safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,' the agency stated on social media.
Legal Proceedings and Family Background
The family's attorney, Marc Prokosich, has contested the official narrative, asserting that the family entered the country legally at a border crossing in Brownsville, Texas, and is now seeking asylum while following proper legal procedures. In contrast, immigration authorities claim Arias entered the country illegally from Ecuador in December 2024.
As the family challenges their detention in court, a federal judge issued a temporary order on Monday prohibiting the Trump administration from deporting Ramos and Arias while their case proceeds.
Growing Protests and Wider Pattern
The case has sparked significant public outcry, with protesters gathering outside the South Texas detention facility to demand Liam's release. On Wednesday, Texas state police deployed chemical irritants and pepper balls after protesters reportedly refused orders to disperse, breached protest boundaries, and spat on officers, resulting in two arrests.
Attorney Eric Lee, who represents other families detained at the facility, described conditions as 'absolutely abysmal,' alleging that baby formula is mixed with putrid water, food contains bugs, and guards are verbally abusive. He recounted one incident where a client with appendicitis was allegedly told to 'take a Tylenol and come back in three days' after collapsing in pain.
Broader Immigration Enforcement Context
Liam's case is not isolated within his community. Columbia Heights Public School District Superintendent Zena Stenvik revealed that several students have been detained by ICE in recent weeks, including a 10-year-old girl apprehended with her mother while on her way to class and a 17-year-old student detained when 'ICE agents pushed their way into an apartment.'
'ICE agents have been roaming our neighborhoods, circling our schools, following our buses, coming into our parking lots and taking our children,' Stenvik stated. 'The sense of safety in our community and around our schools is shaken and our hearts are shattered.'
The situation continues to develop as legal challenges proceed, protests persist, and political figures on both sides of the immigration debate weigh in on this emotionally charged case involving a young child caught in America's immigration enforcement system.
