By JACK DURA Associated Press
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by immigration officers in Minnesota and held at an ICE facility in Texas, were released following a judge’s order and returned to Minnesota on Sunday, according to Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.
The boy and his dad, Adrian Conejo Arias, who originally is from Ecuador, were detained in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
Katherine Schneider, a spokesperson for the Democratic congressman, confirmed the two had arrived home. She said Castro picked them up from Dilley on Saturday night and escorted them home on Sunday to Minnesota.
Images of immigration officers surrounding the young boy in a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack drew outrage about the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minneapolis.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not target or arrest the boy, and repeated assertions that his mother refused to take him after his father’s apprehension. His father told officers he wanted Liam to be with him, she said.
Neighbors and school officials have accused federal immigration officers of using the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would come outside. DHS has called that description of events an “abject lie.” It said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway.
The government said the boy’s father entered the U.S. illegally from Ecuador in December 2024. The family’s lawyer said he has an asylum claim pending that allows him to stay in the U.S.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review’s online court docket shows no future hearings for Liam’s father.
The vast majority of asylum-seekers are released in the United States, with adults having eligibility for work permits, while their cases wind through a backlogged court system. Ecuadorians, who left in droves in recent years as their country spiraled into violence, have fared poorly in immigration court, with judges granting asylum in 12.5% of decisions in the 12-month period through September, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse.
In ordering the release of Liam and his father, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery blasted the administration, writing, “The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”
Residents celebrate release
On Sunday afternoon, residents of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, gathered outside the house where Liam was detained to celebrate his release and call attention to others from the community who remained in ICE detention.
“We cried so much when we heard that he was coming back,” said Lourdes Sanchez, the owner of a cleaning business. “My son is also named Liam, and he is five years old, so it felt personal for us.”
Nearby, Luis Zuna held up photographs of his 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, who he said had been detained, along with her mother, Rosa, while driving to school on Jan. 6. He said they both remained in custody at the same facility where Liam and his father were held.
“It’s the same situation as Liam, but there were no pictures,” said Carolina Gutierrez, who works as a secretary at the school that Elizabeth attended. “Seeing Liam released, it gives us faith.”
Inquiries to DHS about that case were not immediately returned.
Brenda Marquez, another nearby resident, said she had driven with her husband and two young children to the house immediately upon hearing news of Liam’s release, stopping on the way to pick up Spiderman balloons. “We wanted something that would bring a little happiness,” she said. “Being away from my son and not knowing what’s going on with him, I just can’t imagine it.”
Congressman writes letter to Liam
Castro wrote a letter to Liam while they were on the plane to Minnesota, in which he told the young boy he has “moved the world.”
“Your family, school and many strangers said prayers for you and offered whatever they could do to see you back home,” Castro wrote. A photo of the letter was posted on the congressman’s social media accounts. “Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t your home. America became the most powerful, prosperous nation on earth because of immigrants not in spite of them.”
Photos on Castro’s accounts showed Liam wearing his blue bunny hat and a Pikachu backpack.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, welcomed the boy back to Minnesota, saying in a social media post that he “should be in school and with family — not in detention.” The senator added: “Now ICE needs to leave.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, also a Democrat from Minnesota, posted a photo to social media of her with Liam, his father and Castro in which she is holding Liam’s Spider-Man backpack. “Welcome home Liam,” she posted with two hearts.
In a statement, Columbia Heights Public Schools called Liam’s release “an important development,” one that school officials hope will have positive developments for four other Columbia Heights students held at the same facility in Texas.
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Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota. Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz contributed from Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and Elliot Spagat from San Diego.