A five-year-old boy detained by ICE has safely returned to Minnesota after a judge’s order and national outcry, sparking renewed debate over U.S. immigration enforcement and child detention.
By Sahil– Minnesota, February 2, 2026
A five-year-old boy who was taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in a Minneapolis suburb has been safely reunited with his family in Minnesota, according to lawmakers and court documents.
Liam Conejo Ramos, an Ecuadorian asylum-seeking child, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, returned home Sunday night after being held at the Dilley immigration detention facility in Texas. Their release followed a federal judge’s order and widespread public backlash to images and accounts of the boy’s detention.
Judge Orders Release After Controversial Detention
The two were detained on January 20 during a series of immigration enforcement raids in the Minneapolis area. A photograph of Liam wearing a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he was taken into custody spread widely on social media and sparked national outrage.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled that the detention was improperly conducted and ordered the father and son released. In his decision, the judge criticized the use of administrative immigration warrants and what he described as a “pursuit of daily deportation quotas” that can traumatize children.
Lawmakers, Community React to Homecoming
Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro personally picked up the pair in San Antonio and accompanied them on their flight to Minnesota. “Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack,” Castro posted on social media, adding that efforts must continue “until all children and families are home.”
Minnesota Democratic lawmakers, including Representatives Ilhan Omar and Senator Amy Klobuchar, welcomed Liam’s return and called for changes to federal immigration enforcement practices. Klobuchar said the boy “should be in school and with his family — not in detention.”
Columbia Heights Public Schools, where Liam is enrolled, described his release as an “important development” and expressed hope that other students detained in the same operation would soon be reunited with their families.
Dispute Over ICE’s Actions
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains that ICE did not specifically target Liam and that his mother initially declined to take him after his father’s arrest. DHS has defended its enforcement, saying its officers acted within legal authority.
However, neighbors and school officials have allege that agents used the young boy to prompt others to open their home’s door, a claim the department has called an “abject lie.”
The case has thrust renewed attention on how U.S. immigration authorities handle family separations and the treatment of children during enforcement actions.
- 5-year-old detained by ICE
- Child immigration detention US
- ICE detained child Minnesota
- Immigrant child returns home
- ICE family separation case
- US immigration child custody
- Minnesota ICE raid child
- Asylum-seeking child detained
- ICE detention controversy
- Child released from ICE custody