Judge Orders Release of Five-Year-Old Boy Detained by ICE in Minneapolis

Mon Feb 02 2026 03:57:27 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

A five-year-old boy and his father have been ordered released from immigration detention after their case sparked national outrage. A US judge criticized the government's actions as abusive and irresponsible.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery has ordered the release of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from an immigration detention center in Texas. The decision follows widespread public outcry after the boy was detained by ICE agents. Judge Biery condemned the detention as a manifestation of abuse of power, emphasizing the need for a more humane immigration policy.

A US judge has ordered the release of a five-year-old boy and his father from an immigration detention center in Texas, condemning it as driven by a 'perfidious lust for unbridled power'.

The detention of Liam Conejo Ramos, photographed wearing a blue bunny-shaped hat and a Spider-Man backpack, sparked national outcry after he was taken into custody on the driveway of his home in Minneapolis.

The child's father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was also detained. Following the outrage over the pre-schooler's detention, immigration officials stated they did not 'target a child' but were conducting an operation against his father, an 'illegal alien' who allegedly 'abandoned' his son when approached.

On Saturday, US District Judge Fred Biery granted an emergency request from the family's lawyer, ordering government officials to release the father and son by February 3.

The judge also included a photo of Ramos in his fluffy blue hat in his ruling, stating, 'The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.' Biery, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, stressed that deportations should occur in a more orderly and humane manner.

Biery criticized the current immigration enforcement practices saying, 'Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency.'

The family’s lawyer, Marc Prokosch, mentioned that Ramos and his father had come to the US from Ecuador in 2024 seeking asylum and had been following the appropriate immigration protocols.

This incident comes amid a broader immigration enforcement initiative dubbed 'Operation Metro Surge' led by U.S. President Donald Trump, which has ramped up activity in Minnesota. Despite calls for the reduction of federal forces in the state following recent fatalities involving federal agents, the Trump administration is facing challenges in the deployment of its immigration agents, as evidenced by separate legal rulings.