5-year-old boy and his father return to Minnesota after being released from immigration custody

A 5-year-old boy who became a viral symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown is back home after he and his father were released from an immigration facility in Texas on Saturday.

Liam Conejo Ramos was taken into custody with his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, on Jan. 20 after they encountered immigration agents upon returning home from Liam’s preschool in Minnesota. The case drew widespread condemnation and international headlines as the image of Liam in his blue hat and Spider-Man backpack spread online.

The father and son were transferred to a facility in Texas, where congressional representatives were able to make a visit to check on them. Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas told PBS News on Friday that Liam hadn’t been eating well and that “he’s been very depressed.”

Castro wrote Sunday on X that he picked up the father and son Saturday night and escorted them back to Minnesota on Sunday morning.

“Liam is now home,” Castro said. “With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won’t stop until all children and families are home.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., also posted a photo of herself with Liam, his father and Castro on social media. She thanked Castro for traveling back to Minneapolis with them.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery said in a scathing court order Saturday that the Trump administration must release Liam and his father by Tuesday, while their asylum case continues.

Biery wrote that the family's case originates in the "ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, even if it requires traumatizing children."

Biery added — in what he called a "civics lesson for the government" — that warrants issued by the executive branch were not necessarily lawful and could be contravened by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits "unreasonable searches and seizures."

Biery admitted that it was possible due to the "arcane United States immigration system" that the family could return to their home country whether through a voluntary or involuntary deportation. "But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place," he said.

Marc Prokosch, the attorney representing the family, said they entered the United States in 2024 after having booked an appointment through the CBP One app, which was set up during the Biden administration to create an orderly way for migrants to enter the United States and reduce illegal border crossings.

“They were following all the established protocols, pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings, and pose no safety or flight risk. They never should have been detained,” Prokosch said.

The Department of Homeland Security said it was conducting a “targeted operation” to arrest Conejo Arias on Jan. 20 when Liam was also taken into custody. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the agents’ actions, describing Liam as having been “abandoned” and saying the child’s mother refused multiple attempts to claim custody of him, even after officers assured her she would not be arrested.

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"Our officers made multiple attempts to get the alleged mother who was inside the house to take custody of her child. Officers even assured her she would NOT be taken her into custody. The alleged mother refused to accept custody of the child. The father told officers he wanted the child to remain with him," McLaughlin said.

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Liam’s mother denied the Homeland Security account of events, saying federal agents tried to use her son as “bait” to get her out of the home.

Erika Ramos told Telemundo through tears that agents had her son knock on the door and tell her to come outside, but she was afraid she would be arrested and her other child would be left alone.

“When I didn’t open the door, they took Liam to the ICE van,” she said. “It all seemed like an attempt to provoke me, as if they wanted me to run out desperately for my son so they could arrest me, as well.”

Her husband insisted she stay inside to avoid arrest and protect their family, Ramos said, “like any responsible husband and father.”

School board chair Mary Granlund told reporters last week that she was on her way to pick up her own children that day when she saw what was happening at the home. She said she saw Liam’s mother inside and heard her husband yelling that she should not open the door, fearing immigration officers would go inside.

Granlund said someone told her that a representative from the district was present and could assume responsibility for Liam.

“There was ample opportunity to safely hand that child off to adults,” Granlund said.

CORRECTION: (Feb. 2, 2026, 9:39 a.m.): A previous version of this article misstated when Liam and his family entered the U.S. They came in 2024, not 2023.