Federal Judge Orders Release of Five-Year-Old from ICE Facility in Blistering Ruling
A federal judge has issued a scathing order demanding the immediate release of a five-year-old boy and his father from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Texas. The ruling comes after the pair were apprehended outside their Minneapolis home and transported over 1,300 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, where they have been held for more than a week.
Dramatic Arrest and Detention of Young Child
Liam Conejo Ramos was apprehended by federal agents on January 20 in the driveway of his Columbia Heights home as he returned from school. The young boy was reportedly wearing a bunny-shaped beanie and carrying a Spider-Man backpack at the time of his detention. He and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were subsequently transferred to the Texas facility, sparking national outrage and legal intervention.
US District Judge Fred Biery ordered on Saturday morning that the pair be released "as soon as practicable," and no later than Tuesday, according to court documents. In an unusually forceful judicial opinion, Judge Biery condemned the government's actions, stating the case against Liam "has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children."
Judicial Condemnation of Immigration Enforcement Tactics
Judge Biery delivered a comprehensive rebuke of current immigration enforcement practices, accusing the administration of "ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence." The judge suggested that current government actions resemble "a would-be authoritarian king," noting that people across the nation "are hearing echoes of that history."
In his ruling, Biery criticized those in leadership positions, stating that individuals with such a "perfidious lust" for power and control will do anything—including acts of cruelty and lawbreaking—entirely devoid of "human decency." He described the administration's approach as both a moral and legal failure, asserting that officials have acted as if the rule of law is irrelevant to immigration enforcement.
Constitutional Concerns Over Warrant Practices
The judge specifically addressed the administration's practice of issuing administrative warrants that federal immigration agents frequently use to make arrests without judicial approval. "Administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster," Biery wrote in his ruling. He added pointedly, "That is called the fox guarding the henhouse. The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer."
In an unusual move for judicial writing, Biery included the widely circulated photograph of Liam looking out from under his cartoon bunny hat while an ICE agent clutched his toddler-sized backpack. The image has become a national symbol of the human impact on children caught in abrupt deportation proceedings.
Health Concerns and Family Separation Allegations
Democratic Representative Joaquin Castro, who visited the facility, reported concerning conditions, stating, "His dad said that he hasn't been himself, he's been sleeping a lot because he's been depressed and sad." The boy's mother, Erika Ramos, has revealed that circumstances inside the detention center were "deeply concerning," with Liam experiencing stomach pain, vomiting, fever, and loss of appetite due to poor quality food.
Both family members and school staff have accused ICE agents of using the five-year-old as "bait" to apprehend his parents when he was approached after school last month. Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the local school district, told reporters that an agent "led him to the door and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home."
Conflicting Accounts and Legal Proceedings
Immigration officials have presented conflicting accounts, with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials denying the accusations and calling them an "abject lie." DHS claimed that Arias fled on foot, leaving his son in a running vehicle in the driveway, and that the boy's mother refused to take custody of her own child.
Liam and his father were detained in Minnesota after federal officials said they had overstayed their immigration parole. Their lawyers maintain the family is legally in the US under an active asylum claim, while officials argue the parole expired in April and that neither the father nor the son is in the country legally.
Release Order and Political Reactions
Under Judge Biery's release order, federal agents are prohibited from relocating the pair to another facility pending their release, and they are to return home while their immigration case proceeds through the courts. The family's lawyers stated, "We are now working closely with our clients and their family to ensure a safe and timely reunion. We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal."
Following the ruling, Governor Tim Walz wrote on social media, "It should not take a court order to get a toddler out of prison." The school district also released a statement reading, "We want all children to be released from detention centers and the reunification of families who have been unjustly separated."
Democratic Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, both of Texas, visited the father and son inside the facility. During their half-hour meeting, Castro reported that Liam slept in his father's arms without waking and had been asking about his mother, classmates, and returning to school while in detention.
Broader Context and Community Response
Liam was the fourth child from his school district in two weeks to be detained by ICE agents, according to Columbia Heights Public Schools. Dozens of people have protested outside the family detention facility in Dilley since Liam and his father were brought to Texas.
Judge Biery closed his opinion by quoting Benjamin Franklin at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. When asked what kind of government the new nation had, Franklin replied, "A republic, if you can keep it." The judge's ruling represents a significant judicial intervention in immigration enforcement practices and highlights ongoing debates about the treatment of children in the US immigration system.
