Judge Blocks Feds From Moving Detained 5-Year-Old

A federal judge has ruled that a 5-year-old boy caught up in an immigration arrest in Minnesota cannot be deported or transferred for now. The temporary restraining order, issued Tuesday, prevents the removal or relocation of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, outside the Western District of Texas, where they are being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, according to NBC News. The order remains in effect until further notice from the court.

The father and son were detained Jan. 20 after returning from Liam’s preschool to their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, according to the local school superintendent. A witness reported hearing an adult inside the home pleading with immigration agents not to take the child.

The Department of Homeland Security says Conejo Arias attempted to flee when officers approached his vehicle, leaving Liam behind. DHS stated that one ICE officer stayed with the child for safety reasons while other agents apprehended the father. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin denied claims that agents targeted the boy, saying Liam’s mother declined to take custody and that the father agreed the child should remain with him.

That account is disputed by Columbia Heights School Board Chair Mary Granlund, who said she saw the mother inside the home. Granlund stated that her husband warned the woman not to open the door, fearing immigration agents would enter. She added that agents were informed a school district representative was present and willing to take responsibility for the child. “There was ample opportunity to be able to safely hand that child off to adults,” Granlund said.

The case has drawn criticism from immigration advocates, some of whom accuse ICE of using children as leverage during enforcement actions. According to CNN, advocates allege agents were attempting to reach Liam’s mother through her son. An ICE official countered that agents were “heartbroken” when the mother did not open the door to take the child.

McLaughlin defended the agency’s actions, saying parents are routinely asked whether they want to leave with their children or designate another caregiver, a policy she said has been used under prior administrations.

The family’s attorney, Marc Prokosch, said they entered the United States legally in 2023 using the CBP One app and have complied with all asylum requirements. He said the family was not evading immigration authorities, poses no safety or flight risk, and should not have been detained. CBS News has previously reported that the family cannot be legally deported because their immigration case is still pending.

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