He was detained with his father on January 20 by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE) in Minneapolis, United States. At only five years old, Liam Conejo Ramos and his father have already witnessed Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Both were arrested when Adrián Conejo, the little boy’s father, was returning to his house with Liam after picking him up from school. The EFE agency says that an ICE agent took the little boy to the door of his house and asked him to call. There was his mother, currently pregnant.
Used as possible bait
Some media outlets such as CNN claim that the child was used as bait by ICE to check if there were more people inside the home, something that has been flatly denied by the agents, as they affirm that they have never used a child for this purpose.
Among the reasons why both were detained, the aforementioned media maintains that the child’s father had been classified as an “undocumented immigrant.” However, the family’s attorney has denied these claims: “They are not documented immigrants,” said attorney Mark Prokosch. “They were following all established protocols, processing their asylum application, attending their court hearings, and they did not represent any security or flight risk, and should never have been detained.”
Still, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insists that Liam’s father is an undocumented immigrant and, therefore, a target of the operation.
A judge grants provisional release to both
Fortunately, the federal judge for the Western District of Texas, Fred Biery, ordered this Saturday the provisional release of both while the open immigration procedure is resolved.
“Liam is already home. With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded Liam’s freedom. We will not stop until all the children and their families return home,” said Democratic congressman Joaquín Castro on his social networks.
