SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge has directed authorities to free a 5-year-old boy and his father from a Texas detention facility by Tuesday. The pair was transferred there following their apprehension by immigration officials in a Minneapolis suburb last month.
Background of the Detention
Photographs showing Liam Conejo Ramos, dressed in a bunny hat and carrying a Spiderman backpack while encircled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, have intensified public concern over the immigration enforcement policies in Minnesota. These images prompted demonstrations outside the family detention center and drew visits from two Democratic representatives from Texas.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, in his Saturday ruling, attributed the situation to a flawed government drive for daily deportation targets, even at the expense of distressing young children. The judge, who previously blocked the deportation of Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, for the time being, highlighted the administration’s apparent disregard for foundational American principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence.
Biery’s order incorporated an image of Liam and invoked biblical passages, including: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,’” along with “Jesus Wept.”
Enforcement Targets and Official Responses
White House policy advisor Stephen Miller has outlined a goal of 3,000 immigration arrests daily, a benchmark the judge characterized as a quota. Representatives from the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security have not yet responded to inquiries about the matter.
Local residents and school staff in Minnesota allege that agents employed the young boy as a lure, instructing him to knock on his home’s door to draw out his mother. Homeland Security officials have refuted this account as false, stating instead that the father escaped on foot, abandoning the child in a vehicle left running in the driveway.
Conditions at the Facility
During a January 28 meeting with Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, Liam rested in his father’s arms. Adrian Conejo Arias reported that his son often appeared fatigued and struggled to eat properly in the center, which accommodates around 1,100 individuals.
Families held there describe substandard living conditions, including insects in meals, struggles to access potable water, and inadequate healthcare, particularly since the site’s reactivation last year. An internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement review from December noted that approximately 400 children remained in custody beyond the advised 20-day threshold.
