The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador, were detained in a Minneapolis suburb on January 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.

Katherine Schneider, a spokeswoman for the Democratic congressman, confirmed that the two had arrived home. He said that Castro picked them up from Dilley on Saturday night and escorted them home on Sunday to Minnesota.

In a statement, US Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not target or arrest Liam Conejo Ramos, and that his “alleged mother” refused to take him after his father’s arrest. His father told officers he wanted to be with Liam, she said.

“The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law and common sense to our immigration system, and will continue to fight for the arrest, detention, and removal of aliens who are in the country without a right,” McLaughlin said.

Images of the boy wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack and surrounded by immigration officials sparked outrage about the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minneapolis.

In his order granting the release, US District Judge Fred Biery criticized the administration, writing, “The case has its genesis in the government’s ill-conceived and poorly executed pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even though it requires traumatizing children.”

Neighbors and school officials say federal immigration officials used the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door of his house so that his mother would answer. The Department of Homeland Security called that description of events an “outrageous lie.” It is said that the father fled on foot and left the child in the running car in their driveway.

Castro wrote to Liam while they were on a plane to Minnesota, where he told the boy he “moved the world.”

“Your family, school and many strangers are praying for you and offering whatever they can to see you home,” Castro wrote. A photo of the letter was posted on social media. “Don’t let anyone tell you this isn’t your home. America became the most powerful, prosperous nation on earth because of immigrants in spite of them.”

Photos on Castro’s social media show Liam wearing his blue bunny hat and carrying a Pikachu backpack.

US Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, welcomed the boy back to Minnesota, saying in a social media post that he “should be in school and with family — not in detention,” adding, “Now ICE needs to leave.”

US Rep. Ilhan Omar, also a Democrat from Minnesota, posted a photo on social media of him with Liam, his father and Castro in which he was holding Liam’s Spider-Man backpack. “Welcome home Liam,” he posted with two hearts.