Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old whose detention by ICE sparked national fervor, has landed in Minnesota with his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, Sunday morning, according to U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro from Texas.
This comes after a judge ordered their release on Saturday.
Liam was detained Jan. 20 by Immigration Customs and Enforcement in his driveway after he and his father returned home from school.
Zena Stenvik, superintendent for Columbia Heights Public Schools, said, “The agent took the child out of the still-running car, led him to the door and directed him to knock on the door asking to be let in in order to see if anyone else was home, essentially using a 5-year-old as bait.”
Judge Fred Biery gave the order for their release Saturday. The judge granted habeas relief, citing the Fourth Amendment and long-standing due process protections.
Images of Liam in a blue rabbit hat and Spider-Man backpack while being watched over by masked ICE officers circulated widely, sparking calls for his release.
In a statement to MPR News, attorneys representing the family said, “We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal.”
“Columbia Heights Public Schools is so happy that Liam and his father have returned home to be reunified with his mother, brother and our community,” the district said in a statement. “We are very grateful for the overwhelming number of well-wishes and offers of support from people around the globe.”
According to Columbia Heights school district officials, four more children from the district are believed to be still in ICE custody in Texas. This includes a high school and elementary student from the district and two elementary students from the same school as Ramos who a judge has ordered be released, according to the officials.
“Liam’s release is an important development, and we hope it will lead to positive developments for other families as well, including our other four students who are being held at the Dilley facility in Texas,” district officials said. “We want all children to be released from detention centers and hope for the reunification of families who have been unjustly separated.”
The total number of children from Minnesota who have been detained by ICE in recent weeks is still unknown. Lawyers representing families say ICE’s practices of quickly moving detained children out of state makes it impossible to know who’s taken and to get them access to legal counsel.
