Newly released airport security footage from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport shows a five-year-old boy and his father boarding a Delta Air Lines flight to Texas, where they were taken to an immigration detention centre. The footage, obtained by activist Nick Benson of MN50501 and first reported by independent journalist Gillian Brockell, depicts Liam Conejo Ramos, five, and his father, Adrián Conejo Arias, accompanied by three unidentified individuals before boarding a flight to San Antonio on 21 January.
Liam was apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in January after his father, a migrant from Ecuador, was detained during heightened enforcement operations in Minneapolis. A photograph of Liam standing in the snow wearing a blue bunny hat while an agent holds his Spiderman backpack became a defining image of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
Upon arrival in Texas, the father and son were taken to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Texas lawmakers Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, who visited them at the facility, reported that the young boy appeared “lethargic” and was crying for his mother. They spent roughly ten days at the centre before a federal judge ordered their release, condemning Trump officials for “the imposition of cruelty” in detaining the five-year-old.
Delta had not previously commented on whether its flight was used for the transfer. However, the airline featured in an ABC News report in February showing the father and son flying back to Minneapolis, where Delta pilots allowed Liam to sit in the cockpit and gave him a pair of wings. Government agencies often book travel through third parties, and airlines may not have advance notice of passengers or reasons for travel.
Trump officials claimed federal agents had no choice but to detain Liam because his father “abandoned” him and fled after agents attempted to arrest him upon his return from school pickup. They also said Liam’s mother “refused to take custody” of him. The Department of Homeland Security stated agents “took care” of Liam by bringing him to McDonald’s and playing his favourite music. However, neighbours and school officials accused agents of using Liam as “bait” to get the family to open the door.
