Judge Bars Removal Of 5-Year-Old And Father Detained In Minnesota
Judge Fred Biery stayed removal of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, court documents say.
USA TODAY5-year-old boy, father detained by federal agents in Minnesota can't be deported: Judge
NBC News5-year-old who was detained in Minnesota can't be moved, judge rules
Boston HeraldJudge issues temporary order barring removal of boy, 5, and father who were detained in Minnesota
The GuardianUS federal judge blocks deportation of five-year-old boy and his father
Overview
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on Jan. 27, 2025 issued a temporary restraining order preventing removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias while litigation proceeds, according to court documents.
The pair were taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Jan. 20, 2025 outside their Minneapolis-area home, and attorneys said they were later transferred to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
Neighbors and Columbia Heights Public Schools officials said officers used the child as 'bait,' a description the Department of Homeland Security called 'an abject lie,' with DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin saying the child's mother refused custody, officials said.
Columbia Heights Public Schools said at least three other children from the district were taken by ICE agents in the past month, and family attorney Marc Prokosch said the Conejo Arias family entered the United States through the CBP One app, a claim DHS disputes, officials said.
The order bars removal 'until further order from this Court' and keeps the pair within the Western District of Texas while the family's legal challenge proceeds, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said he and Rep. Jasmine Crockett planned to visit the Dilley facility, court documents and public statements show.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources... frame coverage around the child's vulnerability by foregrounding emotive imagery (the blue bunny hat, driveway photos) and privileging critical voices (family attorney, mayor, school district). Government statements and ICE denials appear as source content but are positioned after sympathetic details, producing an editorial tilt that emphasizes humanitarian concerns over enforcement rationale.