SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge on Saturday ordered the United States government to release a five-year-old boy and his father from a Texas immigration detention facility no later than Tuesday. U.S. District Judge Fred Biery granted the emergency request for Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who have been held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley following their detention in Minnesota last month.
The judge’s order delivered a stinging rebuke to federal immigration authorities, stating that the case originated from an “ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas.” In his written opinion, Judge Biery noted that such enforcement actions appeared to proceed “even if it requires traumatizing children.” The ruling included a photograph of the child and cited biblical text, specifically the phrase “Jesus Wept.”
The family was taken into custody on January 20 in Columbia Heights, a suburb of Minneapolis. The circumstances surrounding the arrest have generated significant legal conflict and differing narratives. School officials and local community advocates alleged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents utilized the preschooler as “bait,” reportedly instructing the child to knock on his front door to lure his mother out of the residence.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has strongly disputed this account, characterizing the allegation that agents used the child as leverage as an “abject lie.” According to federal officials, the father attempted to flee the scene on foot, leaving the five-year-old alone in a running vehicle in the driveway. Immigration authorities maintain that agents intervened to secure the minor’s safety only after the father abandoned the vehicle to evade arrest.
Despite the government’s objections regarding the necessity of enforcing removal orders and preventing flight risk, the court mandated the pair’s release “as soon as practicable.” The ruling comes amidst intense public scrutiny and protests in Minnesota regarding the tactical conduct of immigration officers during the operation.
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