Deputy Attorney General Todd Branch said Sunday that the 5-year-old boy and his father Detained by ICE In Minneapolis last month, officials announced the family had been released over the weekend without applying for asylum.

Branch said the boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, entered the United States in 2024, according to public reports, and there are conflicting accounts of their legal status, although officials and family lawyers dispute their entry and asylum processing. Lawyers representing the Ecuadorian family said they are currently working on an active asylum application that would allow them to stay in the country pending a court decision.

The deputy attorney general denied they had a pending asylum case, echoing previous claims from the Department of Homeland Security, which said the family was here illegally.

“That’s not true. There’s a very meaningful dispute about whether they applied for asylum correctly,” Branch said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”

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“I can’t go into the details of this lawsuit, but you can read the same summary that I can. What you just said is not true.”

While some immigrants detained by federal agents have no criminal records, Branch added that the Trump administration considers unauthorized entry into the United States a crime and believes such people should be detained.

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

“In fact, they are illegal here It’s a crime,” he said. “So when you say they don’t have a criminal record, they came to this country without status, entered the country illegally or overstayed illegally, that’s a crime. “

“The law is currently divided as to whether illegal aliens can be detained during proceedings or whether they need to be released on bail,” he added. “We are very convinced that they should be jailed and there are a number of appeals cases.”

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Liam Cornejo Ramos sits with his father, Adrian Alexander Cornejo Arias, after being released from custody in Texas. (Joaquin Castro)

Branch’s comments came after days of intense opposition from lawyers and lawmakers to the move by the five-year-old boy’s father to detain him when he picked him up from school on Jan. 20.

Boy and his father released Dilley Detention Center, TexasOn Saturday, a judge issued a ruling earlier in the day.

Liam Conejo Ramos and his father pass through airport security after being released from federal custody on February 1, 2026. (Joaquin Castro)

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

In a letter he also shared, the congressman wrote to the boy: “Don’t let anyone tell you this is not your home. America has become the strongest, most prosperous country on earth because of immigrants, not in spite of them.”

Texas Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro poses with Liam Cornejo Ramos, father Adrian Alexander Cornejo Arias and Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar after the family was released from a Texas detention center. (Rep. Ilhan Omar)

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represent. Ilhan OmarThe Minnesota Democrat posted a photo on social media of herself standing next to her family and Castro to celebrate their release, writing: “Liam is now home and we thank Joaquin Castro for traveling to Minneapolis with him and his father. Welcome Liam home.”