A U.S. federal judge issued an emergency order to release a 5-year-old boy and his father, who were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis and held at a detention center in Texas. This came amid widespread national criticism of the sudden arrest and condemnation of immigration crackdown policies that cause emotional distress to children.
The federal judge ordered the release of "Liam Conejo Ramos," the 5-year-old boy, and his father, "Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias," from the Texas immigration detention center, with a deadline to release them by 3 February.
Liam’s case went viral and sparked nationwide outrage after images circulated showing the boy wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack while being detained by ICE officers at the entrance of his home in Minneapolis.
Officials claimed they did not intentionally target the child but were conducting an operation against his father, labeled as an "illegal alien," who allegedly tried to abandon his son when agents approached. However, the family’s lawyer stated that both had traveled from Ecuador in 2024 seeking asylum and had consistently complied with immigration procedures.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery condemned the detention in his release order as the result of "a vile thirst for unchecked power," criticizing the case as stemming from ineffective policies focused solely on daily deportation quotas, at the expense of the suffering inflicted on children.
Judge Biery, appointed during former President Bill Clinton’s administration, emphasized that the deportation system should be more orderly and humane, stating that the officials’ actions in this case lacked basic compassion.
This incident occurred amid escalated immigration enforcement measures under President Donald Trump’s "Operation Metro Surge" in Minneapolis, which has faced heavy backlash following federal officers fatally shooting two U.S. citizens earlier.
On the same day, another federal court denied a local government request to halt the deployment of thousands of immigration agents, citing insufficient evidence that their actions were illegal. Nonetheless, the case of the 5-year-old boy has become a significant symbol prompting societal debate over the appropriateness of current immigration law enforcement.
,BBC