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A5-year-old boy and his fathershould be released on Tuesday from the Texas center where they were held after being detained by immigration officials in Minnesota, a federal judge ruled Saturday in a decision that harshly criticized the Trump administration’s enforcement approach.
Images of Liam Conejo Ramos, wearing a bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack, surrounded by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have sparked more outcry about the administration ofimmigration controlin Minnesota.
The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were detained in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights on January 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
Which led to aprotest at the Texas family detention centerand visit bytwo Texas Democratic members of Congress.
US District Judge Fred Biery, who sits in San Antonio and was appointed by former Democratic President Bill Clinton, said in his ruling that “the case has its genesis in a poorly conceived and poorly executed government seeking daily deportation quotas, apparently even though it requires traumatizing children.”
Biery previously ruled that the boy and his fathercannot be removed from the USat least for now.
In his order on Saturday, Biery said: “the government’s ignorance of a document of American history called the Declaration of Independence,” which suggests the actions of the Trump administration echoed by the former author and future President Thomas Jefferson, was listed as complaints against King George of England.
Among them: “He sent here Teams of Officers to disturb our People” and “He encouraged domestic revolt among us.”
Biery included in his order a photo of Liam and references to two Bible lines: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these,” and “Jesus wept.”
He’s not the only federal judge to have a hard time with ICE recently.A judge based in Minnesotawith a conservative pedigree has characterized the agency as a serial violator of court orders related to the crackdown.
Stephen Miller, the White House chief of staff for policy, said there was a target of 3,000 immigration arrests a day. That number is what the judge described as a “quota.”
Spokesmen from the US Department of Justice and the US Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Law Firm of Jennifer Scarborough, which represents the boy and his family, said in a statement that it is working “to ensure a safe and timely reunification.”
“We are happy that the family can now focus on being together and finding peace after this traumatic ordeal,” they said.
Neighbors and school officials say federal immigration officials in Minnesotaused 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.
The government says Arias entered the US illegally in December 2024. The family’s lawyer says he has a pending asylum claim that allows him to remain in the country.
During a visit Wednesday by Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, the boy slept in the arms of his father, who said Liam was always tired and poorly fed in the detention facility that holds about 1,100 people, according to Castro.
Detainee families reported poor conditions such asmealworms,fighting for clean waterand poor medical care at the detention center since thenreopened last year. Last December, a report filed by ICE acknowledged that they had about 400 children longer than the recommended limit of 20 days.
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Associated Press writer Valerie Gonzalez contributed to this article.
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
