In brief
A temporary ruling by U.S. Judge Fred Biery has prohibited the removal of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who are currently held at a detention facility in Texas. Their arrest in Minnesota has been contentious, with accusations that immigration officers used the child as leverage to apprehend the father. The Department of Homeland Security has denied these claims and stated that the father is in the U.S. illegally, while his attorney argues he has a pending asylum claim.
A federal judge has issued a temporary order prohibiting the removal of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who were detained last week in Minnesota. This case has ignited tensions surrounding U.S. immigration policies under the Trump administration. U.S. Judge Fred Biery's ruling allows the father and son to remain in the country while legal proceedings unfold. They are currently held in a family detention facility located in Dilley, Texas, near San Antonio.The circumstances surrounding their arrest are controversial, with neighbors and school officials alleging that federal immigration officers used the preschooler as a tactic to apprehend his father. They reported that officers instructed Liam to knock on the door of his home, where his mother would answer. In contrast, the Department of Homeland Security termed these allegations an 'abject lie,' asserting that the father fled from authorities, leaving his child in a running car.Legal representatives for the family have not yet commented extensively on the situation but have noted that there is a pending asylum claim for the father, providing a basis for his legal presence in the U.S. Stephen Miller, a senior official in the Trump administration, has stated that Conejo Arias entered the United States in December 2024, labeling him as undocumented. The Department of Homeland Security has not provided any further information regarding the judge's order while maintaining their stance regarding the father’s legal status.
