5-year-old boy, father detained by federal agents in Minnesota can't be deported: Judge
A federal judge has ruled that a Minnesota preschooler detained alongside his father can't be deported. For now.
The ruling, filed in court on Jan. 27, says the government cannot remove Adrian Conejo Arias or his son, 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, while the case is pending and until further order of the court, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery said.
USA TODAY has reached out to Conejo's attorney, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
The detention of Conejo and Liam made national headlines and drew criticism after photos circulated showing the 5-year-old being detained in the driveway of his home as he wore a blue bunny hat on Jan. 20.
When an adult known to the family offered to take Liam, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement refused and instead led the boy to his front door and ordered him to knock – "essentially using a 5-year-old as bait," according to a news release from Columbia Heights Public Schools .
ICE has disputed that claim. Vice President J.D. Vance defended the agency last week, saying that ICE was targeting Conjeo, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador accused of trying to flee from immigration agents. As for the boy, he said: "Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?"
Conejo's attorney has previously denied federal officials' account of the arrest and said that Conejo was in the country legally, awaiting asylum − another assertion disputed by the government.
What has the Conejo family attorney said?
Marc Prokosch, a Twin Cities immigration attorney representing Liam’s family, held a news conference about the case last week, slamming authorities for detaining Conejo and his son.
"How can you justify incarcerating a child?" Prokosch told reporters, adding that Conejo has no criminal record and that the family was in the country legally.
He said the family used a Customs and Border Protection app to apply for asylum and entered the U.S. in 2024 at an official port of entry in Brownsville, Texas. "They came properly and are pursuing a legal pathway," he said, though he declined to share what prompted them to flee Ecuador, considered among the most violent in Latin America, according to Human Rights Watch .
Prokosch said the father and son were being held at a family detention center in San Antonio.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has also criticized the detention, saying the 5-year-old boy is "not a threat of our community."
Contributing: Zac Anderson and Michael Loria, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge blocks deportation of 5-year-old boy, dad detained in Minnesota
