Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were detained by immigration officers in Minnesota and held at an ICE facility in Texas, have been released following a judge’s order. They have returned to Minnesota, according to Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro.
The two were detained in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas.
Katherine Schneider, a spokesperson for the Democratic congressman, confirmed the two had arrived home. She said Castro picked them up from Dilley on Jan. 31 and escorted them home on Feb. 1 to Minnesota.
The Associated Press emailed the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the father and son’s release. There was no immediate response.
Images of the young boy wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack and surrounded by immigration officers drew outrage about the Trump administration’s crackdown in Minneapolis.
Neighbors and school officials say that federal immigration officers used the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would answer.
The Department of Homeland Security has called that description of events an “abject lie.” It said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway.
Photos on Castro’s social media showed Liam wearing his blue bunny hat and with a Pikachu backpack
U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., 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.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., posted a photo to social media of her with Liam, his father and Castro in which she is holding Liam’s Spider-Man backpack. “Welcome home Liam,” she posted with two hearts. (AP)