ICE detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, transferring them to a Texas family detention center

On January 20, 2026, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, in the driveway of their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, as the two returned from Liam's preschool. Accounts of the arrest conflict: the Department of Homeland Security said Conejo Arias fled on foot when agents approached his car and left Liam behind, while a witness and Columbia Heights school officials said an adult inside the home could be heard pleading with agents not to take the child, and a school board member said officers had a chance to hand Liam to a school representative instead of removing him. Photographs of Liam -- wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack as an ICE agent held onto him -- circulated widely and intensified scrutiny of the operation. ICE then transported father and son roughly 1,100 miles to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, a family detention facility in Texas.

The family had arrived in the United States from Ecuador and were pursuing an asylum claim after entering through the CBP One appointment system; their attorney at the time, Marc Prokosch, said they had no criminal record and were "following all the established protocols pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings," and "never should have been detained."

Updates

2026-01-27 — Judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking removal from Texas [9]

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a temporary restraining order barring the government from removing or transferring Liam and his father outside the Western District of Texas pending further court directive.

2026-01-31 — Judge ordered their release, criticized "deportation quotas" pursuit [4]

Judge Biery ordered the pair released by February 3, writing that the case had its "genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas," and that the family sought "nothing more than some modicum of due process and the rule of law."

2026-02-01 — Liam and his father released, returned to Minnesota [3, 6]

The pair were released from the Dilley center and returned to Minnesota, escorted by U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Joaquin Castro; Castro later said the father had been on a one-year parole and had no criminal record.

2026-02-05 — DHS moved to end the family's pending asylum claims [1, 2]

The Department of Homeland Security filed to terminate the family's asylum claims. The family's attorneys said the filing was an attempt to fast-track their removal and called it retaliatory; DHS disputed that characterization.

2026-02-06 — Judge granted a continuance; DHS called the proceedings routine [3, 6]

At a hearing, a judge granted the family's request for more time to respond to DHS's filing. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the family was "not slated for expedited removal," calling it "regular removal proceedings" and adding, "there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation's immigration laws." Attorney Paschal Nwokocha said of the government's posture, "the government was bent on removing this family from the United States. We were able to get additional time to do what we need to do in court."

2026-03-19 — Immigration judge denied the family's asylum claims, ordered removal [7]

U.S. Immigration Judge John Burns denied the family's asylum claims and ordered their removal. The family's attorneys said they are appealing, a process that could take months or years; if the appeal fails, the family is expected to be deported to Ecuador, their country of origin.

2026-04-01 — DOJ appealed the release order, sought renewed detention authority [8]

The Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal challenging Judge Biery's January 31 release order, taking the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and specifically contesting bond-hearing protections that would apply if the father and son are re-detained. A DHS spokesperson said the pair "received full due process and were issued a final order of removal on February 19." Adrian Conejo Arias said, "The first time they came for us it was unjust. The second time they came for us is unjust. We are not giving into their fear."