A US judge has ordered the release of a five-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father from a Texas detention centre by Tuesday, following their arrest by immigration agents in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Liam Conejo Ramos was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on 20 January after returning from school with his father, Adrian Conejo Arias. Images of the boy in a bunny hat and plaid coat went viral, sparking outrage after claims that he was used as bait to try to arrest his mother inside the home.
US District Judge Fred Biery ruled on Saturday that the case stemmed from 'ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatising children'. He previously ordered that the pair could not be removed from the US. In his latest order, Biery included a photo of Liam and references to two Bible verses: 'Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me…”' and 'Jesus Wept.'
Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights public school district, said that during the arrest, another adult begged agents to let them care for the child but was refused. Instead, an agent took the child from a running vehicle, led him to the door, and directed him to knock to see if anyone was home—'essentially using a five-year-old as bait'. The Department of Homeland Security disputed this, posting on X that the child was 'abandoned'.
Texas representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the pair at the detention centre, where Liam was tired and not eating well. The family’s lawyer said they presented themselves to border officers in Texas in December 2024 to apply for asylum, and their claims remain pending.
