5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and father return to Minnesota from ICE
facility in Texas
[February 02, 2026]
By JACK DURA
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by
immigration officers in Minnesota and held at an ICE facility in Texas,
were released following a judge’s order and returned to Minnesota on
Sunday, according to Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.
The boy and his dad, Adrian Conejo Arias, who originally is from
Ecuador, were detained in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20. They were
taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
Katherine Schneider, a spokesperson for the Democratic congressman,
confirmed the two had arrived home. She said Castro picked them up from
Dilley on Saturday night and escorted them home on Sunday to Minnesota.
Images of immigration officers surrounding the young boy in a blue bunny
hat and Spider-Man backpack drew outrage about the Trump
administration’s crackdown in Minneapolis.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia
McLaughlin said in a statement that Immigration and Customs Enforcement
did not target or arrest the boy, and repeated assertions that his
mother refused to take him after his father’s apprehension. His father
told officers he wanted Liam to be with him, she said.
Neighbors and school officials have accused federal immigration officers
of using the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door
to his house so that his mother would come outside. DHS has called that
description of events an “abject lie.” It said the father fled on foot
and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway.
The government said the boy's father entered the U.S. illegally from
Ecuador in December 2024. The family’s lawyer said he has an asylum
claim pending that allows him to stay in the U.S.
The Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review’s
online court docket shows no future hearings for Liam’s father.
The vast majority of asylum-seekers are released in the United States,
with adults having eligibility for work permits, while their cases wind
through a backlogged court system. Ecuadorians, who left in droves in
recent years as their country spiraled into violence, have fared poorly
in immigration court, with judges granting asylum in 12.5% of decisions
in the 12-month period through September, according to the Transactional
Records Access Clearinghouse.
In ordering the release of Liam and his father, U.S. District Judge Fred
Biery blasted the administration, writing, “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.”
Residents celebrate release
On Sunday afternoon, residents of Columbia Heights, Minnesota, gathered
outside the house where Liam was detained to celebrate his release and
call attention to others from the community who remained in ICE
detention.
“We cried so much when we heard that he was coming back,” said Lourdes
Sanchez, the owner of a cleaning business. “My son is also named Liam,
and he is five years old, so it felt personal for us.”
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In this photo released by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-TX, Adrian
Conejo Arias and his son, five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos are seen
in San Antonio, Texas, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, after being released
from Dilley detention center. (Joaquin Castro via AP)
Nearby, Luis Zuna held up photographs of his 10-year-old daughter,
Elizabeth, who he said had been detained, along with her mother,
Rosa, while driving to school on Jan. 6. He said they both remained
in custody at the same facility where Liam and his father were held.
“It’s the same situation as Liam, but there were no pictures,” said
Carolina Gutierrez, who works as a secretary at the school that
Elizabeth attended. “Seeing Liam released, it gives us faith.”
Inquiries to DHS about that case were not immediately returned.
Brenda Marquez, another nearby resident, said she had driven with
her husband and two young children to the house immediately upon
hearing news of Liam’s release, stopping on the way to pick up
Spiderman balloons. “We wanted something that would bring a little
happiness,” she said. “Being away from my son and not knowing what’s
going on with him, I just can’t imagine it.”
Congressman writes letter to Liam
Castro wrote a letter to Liam while they were on the plane to
Minnesota, in which he told the young boy he has “moved the world.”
“Your family, school and many strangers said prayers for you and
offered whatever they could do to see you back home,” Castro wrote.
A photo of the letter was posted on the congressman's social media
accounts. “Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t your home. America
became the most powerful, prosperous nation on earth because of
immigrants not in spite of them.”
Photos on Castro’s accounts showed Liam wearing his blue bunny hat
and a Pikachu backpack.
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, welcomed the boy
back to Minnesota, saying in a social media post that he “should be
in school and with family — not in detention.” The senator added:
“Now ICE needs to leave.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, also a Democrat from Minnesota, posted a photo
to social media of her with Liam, his father and Castro in which she
is holding Liam’s Spider-Man backpack. “Welcome home Liam,” she
posted with two hearts.
In a statement, Columbia Heights Public Schools called Liam’s
release “an important development,” one that school officials hope
will have positive developments for four other Columbia Heights
students held at the same facility in Texas.
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Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota. Associated Press writers
Jake Offenhartz contributed from Columbia Heights, Minnesota, and
Elliot Spagat from San Diego.
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