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A federal judge has issued a mandate demanding the release of a 5-year-old boy and his father from a Texas detention center by Tuesday. They were apprehended by immigration authorities in Minnesota, and the decision comes amid sharp criticism of President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.
The case of young Liam Conejo Ramos, captured in poignant images wearing a bunny hat and a Spiderman backpack while encircled by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, on January 20, has stirred further controversy regarding the administration’s immigration tactics in Minnesota. The incident prompted a protest at the Texas family detention facility and spurred a visit from two Democratic members of Congress from Texas.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, issued a scathing ruling from his San Antonio courtroom. He condemned what he described as the government’s “ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented” deportation strategies, which he argued are driven by arbitrary quotas and have the potential to traumatize children.
Previously, Judge Biery had blocked the deportation of the boy, Liam, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, at least temporarily, preventing their removal from the U.S.
In his recent order, Judge Biery criticized the current administration’s apparent disregard for the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence, comparing their actions to the grievances listed by Thomas Jefferson against England, highlighting what he perceives as a lack of understanding of foundational American values.
Biery also included in his ruling a photo of Liam Conejo Ramos and references to two lines in the Bible: “Jesus said, ’Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” and “Jesus wept.”
He’s not the only federal judge who has been tough on ICE recently. A Minnesota-based judge with a conservative pedigree accused the agency as a serial violator of court orders.
Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff for policy, has said there’s a target of 3,000 immigration arrests a day. It’s that figure which the judge seemed to describe as a “quota.”
Spokespersons from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Neighbors and school officials say that federal immigration officers in Minnesota used the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would answer. The Department of Homeland Security 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 says Arias entered the U.S. illegally in December 2024. The family’s lawyer says he has a pending asylum claim that allows him to remain in the country.
During the Jan. 28 visit with Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, the boy slept in the arms of his father, who said Liam was frequently tired and not eating well at the detention facility that houses about 1,100 people, according to Castro.
Detained families report poor conditions like worms in food, fighting for clean water and poor medical care at the detention center since its reopening last year. In December, a report filed by ICE acknowledged they held about 400 children longer than the recommended limit of 20 days.
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