Federal Judge Orders Release of Father and 5-Year-Old Son Detained in ICE Raid, Rebukes Administration
DETROIT, Jan 31 (Reuters) – In a sharply worded ruling, a federal judge on Saturday ordered U.S. immigration authorities to release Adrian Conejo Arias and his five-year-old son, Liam, who were taken into custody during a raid in a Minneapolis suburb earlier this month.
The case drew national attention after a photo circulated showing young Liam, wearing a blue bunny hat, standing outside his home as federal agents looked on. According to the Columbia Heights Public School District, Liam was one of four students detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials in the operation, which also included two 17-year-olds and a 10-year-old.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, in his three-page order, condemned the government's actions as part of a "ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented" pursuit of deportation quotas, stating it appeared willing to "traumatize children" in the process. The judge, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, drew direct parallels between the Trump administration's tactics and grievances listed against the British monarchy in the Declaration of Independence.
"Ultimately, Petitioners may… return to their home country," Judge Biery wrote. "But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place." He specifically criticized the use of "administrative warrants" issued by immigration officials themselves, calling it "the fox guarding the henhouse," and emphasized the constitutional requirement for a judicial warrant based on probable cause of a crime.
Adrian Conejo Arias and his son had entered the United States legally as asylum applicants before being transferred to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, according to their attorney, Marc Prokosch. Neither Prokosch nor the Department of Homeland Security provided immediate comment on the ruling.
/// Reader Commentary ///
Maria Rodriguez, Immigration Attorney, Chicago: "This ruling is a vital check on executive overreach. Judge Biery correctly highlights the systemic danger of 'administrative warrants' that bypass judicial review. Detaining children to meet quotas isn't enforcement; it's a failure of moral and legal policy."
David Chen, Small Business Owner, Minneapolis Suburb: "It's a heartbreaking situation for the family, but we are a nation of laws. The judge's personal political commentary seemed excessive. The focus should be on fixing a broken system, not assigning blame through historical allegories."
Rebecca Vance, Community Organizer, Austin: "Finally, a judge with a spine! Biery's words are a damning indictment of an intentionally cruel apparatus. 'Traumatizing children' and 'perfidious lust for power'—he named it exactly. This isn't just about one raid; it's about the normalization of state-sponsored fear in our communities."
Professor James Whitfield, Political Science, University of Michigan: "The judicial rebuke is significant, but its immediate impact is limited to this case. It underscores the deepening conflict between the judiciary and the executive branch on immigration enforcement philosophy. The reference to the Declaration is a remarkable rhetorical escalation, signaling how fundamental some judges view these constitutional clashes."
(Reporting by Kalea Hall; Additional reporting by William Mallard; Editing by Sergio Non and Alistair Bell)