After 13 Days in Detention, Five-Year-Old Liam and Father Fly Home to Minneapolis Following Court Order
MINNEAPOLIS — A five-year-old boy and his father, detained for nearly two weeks by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are back in Minnesota after a federal judge blasted the government's "ill-conceived" pursuit of deportation targets that involved "traumatizing children."
Liam Conejo Ramos and Adrian Conejo Arias boarded a flight home on Sunday, February 1, one day after U.S. District Judge Fred Biery of the Western District of Texas ordered their release from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. The pair had been held since January 20, when ICE agents detained them in their driveway upon returning from Liam's preschool.
"I'm happy to finally be going home," Adrian Conejo Arias told ABC News, carrying his sleeping son onto the aircraft. Their release concludes a tense ordeal that drew scrutiny from lawmakers, educators, and immigrant rights advocates, highlighting ongoing tensions over immigration enforcement under the current administration.
In his sharply worded order, obtained by The New York Times, Judge Biery condemned what he called an "incompetently government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children." He further criticized the "government’s ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence," adding that the pursuit of "unbridled power" showed a disregard for "human decency" and the rule of law.
The case gained national attention after video of the detention spread online. School officials expressed alarm over Liam's deteriorating health in custody. Zena Stenvik, superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools, told The Huffington Post the boy was "not doing great" and had developed a fever, stomach pain, and vomiting. His mother, Erika Ramos, separately described his loss of appetite and illness, attributing it to poor-quality food at the facility.
U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who visited the detention center, reported on social media that Liam had been "sleeping a lot because he’s been depressed and sad," noting that "the whole country's been worried about him."
Controversy also erupted over the tactics used during the arrest. Stenvik accused agents of "essentially using a 5-year-old as bait" by asking the child to knock on his home's door to see if others were inside. The family's lawyer, Marc Prokosch, emphasized that the Conejo Arias family has an active asylum case and entered the U.S. legally, stating, "They are not criminals."
The Department of Homeland Security defended ICE's actions in a statement, claiming Adrian Conejo Arias fled on foot during the encounter, "abandoning his child," and that an officer remained with Liam for his safety. The agency stated it does not target children and follows policies allowing parents to choose removal with their children.
The release order brings temporary relief but leaves the family's asylum case pending, a reminder of the precarious reality facing thousands of migrant families in the U.S. immigration system.
Reactions & Analysis
Dr. Anya Sharma, Immigration Policy Professor at University of Minnesota: "This case is a stark example of how enforcement priorities can override basic humanitarian concerns and legal due process. Detaining a young child pursuing a legal asylum claim is not only morally questionable but undermines public trust in the system."
Michael T. Briggs, Former ICE Field Office Director (Retired): "While the judge's language is forceful, agents operate under challenging directives. The key allegation—that the father fled—if true, complicates the narrative. Procedures exist to keep families together during processing, but situations on the ground are often fluid."
Rebecca Vance, Community Organizer with 'Families Belong Together': "It's monstrous. Using a kindergarten child as bait and locking him up for two weeks is state-sanctioned cruelty. This isn't about policy or quotas; it's about inflicting trauma to deter others. Judge Biery was right to call out this indecency."
Pastor James Miller, Local Interfaith Coalition Leader: "Our community prayed for Liam's return. The relief is profound, but so is the anger. This child lost part of his childhood in a detention center. We must ask what kind of nation we are building when our laws allow this to happen to a five-year-old."