The Trump administration is pushing ahead with plans to deport a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy who was recently released from federal custody in Minnesota — a move critics describe as cruel and retaliatory. The boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, had been held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before a judge ordered their release late last month.
On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that it is seeking to deport Liam and his father, even though their asylum case is still unresolved.
The family’s lawyer, Danielle Molliver, called the administration’s deportation push “extraordinary” and suggested it could be retaliatory, especially given the intense public scrutiny the case has drawn. “There is absolutely no reason that this should be expedited,” Molliver told Minnesota Public Radio, according to Reuters.
DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin defended the government’s actions, asserting that enforcing immigration laws against asylum seekers is standard procedure and not punitive. “These are regular removal proceedings … and there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws,” she said.
Liam and his father were detained on January 20 in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights — a case that quickly drew national attention after a photograph of the young child wearing a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack circulated widely. For weeks, the family was held at a Texas detention facility until a judge ordered their release on January 31, and they returned to Minnesota.
Since then, the legal battle over their removal has become a flashpoint in the broader debate over immigration enforcement under President Trump. Minnesota has been at the center of an aggressive federal crackdown known as Operation Metro Surge, which has deployed thousands of immigration agents to the state and sparked public protests.
Human rights defenders and some community members have been sharply critical of the administration’s approach, calling it disproportionate and harmful, especially where children are involved. A photo of Liam detained with his father triggered widespread condemnation and has lingered in public memory as an example of the emotional toll immigration enforcement can take on families.
With the family’s asylum claim still pending, the decision to move toward deportation — mere days after their release — raises serious questions about the administration’s priorities and the treatment of children in immigration proceedings.
