Deputy Attorney General Rejects Asylum Claim for 5-Year-Old and Father Following Release from ICE Detention

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Sunday that a 5-year-old boy and his father, who were held by ICE in Minneapolis last month, had not filed for asylum. This statement came as officials confirmed the family’s release over the weekend.

Blanche highlighted conflicting reports concerning the legal status of the boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias. According to public records, they entered the U.S. in 2024. However, there is disagreement between officials and the family’s attorneys regarding the circumstances of their entry and their asylum process. Lawyers for the Ecuadorian family assert that they have an active asylum application being processed, which permits them to stay in the U.S. while awaiting a court’s decision.

The deputy attorney general refuted the claim of a pending asylum case, aligning with previous statements from the Department of Homeland Security, which has labeled the family’s presence in the U.S. as illegal.

“That is not accurate. There is a significant dispute over whether they correctly applied for asylum,” Blanche stated during his appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

“I cannot delve into the specifics of this litigation, but you can review the same documents I have. What has been said is not correct,” he added.

While some immigrants detained by federal agents do not have prior criminal records, Blanche added that the Trump administration considers unauthorized entry into the U.S. a crime and believes such individuals should be detained.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives for a press conference on August 11, 2025, in Washington, D.C.  (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

“The fact that they’re here illegally is a crime,” he said. “And so when you say they don’t have criminal records, they are – by their presence being here without status, having come into this country illegally or overstayed illegally, that is a crime.”

“There is a schism in the law right now about whether an illegal alien can be held pending their proceeding or whether they need to be released on bail,” he added. “We very strongly believe that they should be held and there’s a bunch of appellate cases.”

Liam Conejo Ramos sits with father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias after getting released from a detention facility in Texas. (Joaquin Castro)

Blanche’s comments come after several days of widespread backlash from attorneys and lawmakers who condemned the operation that detained the five‑year‑old when his father picked him up from school on Jan. 20.

The boy and his father were released from a detention center in Dilley, Texas, on Saturday, after a judge issued a ruling earlier in the day.  

Liam Conejo Ramos and his father pass through airport security after their release from federal custody on Feb. 1, 2026. (Joaquin Castro)

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, posted on social media Sunday that he picked up the family Saturday night and escorted them back to Minnesota the next morning.

In a letter he also shared, the congressman wrote to the boy: “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.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, poses with Liam Conejo Ramos, father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., following the family’s release from a detention center in Texas. (Rep. Ilhan Omar)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., celebrated their release on social media with a photo of her standing next to the family and Castro, writing, “Liam is home now and we are grateful to Joaquin Castro for traveling to Minneapolis with him and his dad. Welcome home Liam.”