Judge blocks removal of 5-year-old boy detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minnesota
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the deportation of a 5-year-old boy and his father who were detained last week as part of… Due to the federal government’s ongoing campaign against immigration in Minnesota.
Immigration officials arrested five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos shortly after he arrived home from day care while his father was on their way, school officials said last week.
In the order issued Monday, U.S. District Judge Fred Perry said Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, could not be removed from the district in Texas pending a habeas corpus case challenging their detention.
“Defendants may not transport petitioners Adrian Conejo Arias and LCR, a minor child, out of this judicial district while this action is pending and until further order of this court,” Judge Perry wrote.
At the time of their detention, the father and son had a pending asylum case but no removal order directing their removal from the United States.
“Liam and his father entered the United States at an entry point to seek asylum through the CBP One app. They used the app, made an appointment. They came to the border and presented themselves to CBP,” said Mark Prokosch, the family’s attorney. “These are not illegal aliens. They came in right.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement: “Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not target a child,” noting that he had been abandoned.
Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after arriving home from preschool, on January 20, 2026, in a suburb of Minneapolis.
Ali Daniels via AP
“On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an illegal alien from Ecuador released to the United States by the Biden Administration,” the statement read. “When agents approached the driver, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias fled on foot – abandoning his child. For the safety of the child, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers arrested Conejo Arias.”
“Parents are being asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person designated by the parent. This is consistent with immigration enforcement actions imposed by the previous administration,” the DHS statement said.
DHS’s account differs from what the family’s attorney and school officials said about what happened.
“Another adult living in the home was outside and pleaded with agents to let them care for the young child, but was refused,” officials from the Conejo Ramos School said.
