'Ill-conceived': US federal judge orders release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo and his father, slams ICE

A federal judge on Saturday ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, from a Texas detention centre by Tuesday, sharply criticising the Trump administration’s immigration policies. The ruling came after the pair were detained by immigration officers in Minnesota on January 20 and moved to a facility in Dilley, Texas.

Images of Liam wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack surrounded by ICE officers drew national attention and outrage. US District Judge Fred Biery, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, said the case reflected “the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatising children.”




Neighbors and school officials claimed immigration officers used Liam to lure his mother to the door, though the Department of Homeland Security denied this. Arias entered the US illegally from Ecuador in December 2024, but his lawyer said he has a pending asylum claim.

Biery referenced the Declaration of Independence and Bible verses in his ruling, including “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me…’” and “Jesus wept.” He highlighted the trauma caused to children and families under the current enforcement approach.