A U.S. federal judge has ordered the release of a five-year-old boy and his father from a Texas immigration detention centre, sharply criticizing the government’s handling of their case as a manifestation of “the perfidious lust for unbridled power.”
The boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, became the face of national outrage after being photographed wearing a blue bunny-shaped hat and a Spider-Man backpack when he was taken into custody on the driveway of his Minneapolis home. His father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was also detained in the sweep.
Following the incident, immigration authorities stated they were targeting the father, described as an “illegal alien,” rather than the child. Officials claimed the boy was temporarily left with government personnel because his father “abandoned” him when approached.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery granted an emergency motion filed by the family’s attorney, ordering the immediate release of both father and son by February 3. Biery, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, included in his ruling a photo of Ramos wearing his signature fluffy blue hat, emphasizing the human cost of immigration enforcement.
“The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children,” Judge Biery wrote. He called for deportations to be conducted through a “more orderly and humane policy” rather than the current system.
“Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency,” the judge added, highlighting the emotional impact of Ramos’s detention.
Marc Prokosch, the family’s lawyer, confirmed that the boy and his father were held at a detention facility in San Antonio, Texas. He noted that the Conejo family arrived in the United States in 2024 from Ecuador seeking asylum and had been complying with immigration procedures throughout their stay.
The case has intensified scrutiny of U.S. immigration enforcement, particularly under the administration of former President Donald Trump. In recent weeks, federal authorities have stepped up operations in Minneapolis under a campaign known as “Operation Metro Surge.” This initiative aims to increase deportation activity but has drawn criticism for aggressive tactics and community disruption.
Trump administration officials signaled on Thursday that they may consider scaling back federal forces in the state following a national outcry over controversial enforcement actions, including the fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis by federal agents.
In a related development, a federal judge denied a state government request to block the deployment of thousands of immigration agents in Minneapolis. The ruling stated that the state had not demonstrated that the federal activities were unlawful, effectively allowing the intensified enforcement effort to continue.
The Department of Homeland Security has yet to comment on Judge Biery’s decision.
The Ramos case has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration policy, drawing attention to the treatment of children in detention and raising questions about the balance between enforcement objectives and humanitarian considerations.
For many advocates, the image of Liam Conejo Ramos in his small blue hat has come to symbolize the human stakes of the immigration system and the need for reform. Judge Biery’s ruling marks a rare rebuke of federal detention practices, emphasizing that even in the pursuit of legal and administrative goals, policymakers must remain guided by compassion and decency.
