A federal judge on Saturday ordered the release of Adrian Conejo Adrias and his son, 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, who were detained during a Minneapolis immigration raid earlier this month.
A viral image of Ramos, sporting a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack while surrounded by federal agents on January 20, sparked backlash both within Minneapolis and across the country. Ramos and his father, both Ecuadorian citizens, were then taken to a Texas detention center.
What did the judge say?
TL;DR: The order said Ramos and his father must be released from federal custody by Tuesday.
The order said Ramos and his father must be released from federal custody by Tuesday.
"The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportations quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children," US District Judge Fred Biery said in his ruling. Biery, the chief judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas, was appointed by Democratic former-President Bill Clinton.
Stephen Miller, a top adviser to US President Donald Trump and the architect of his hardline immigration policy, told Fox News last year that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a daily quota to arrest 3,000 undocumented migrants a day.
Trump's immigration policy hits shrinking US cities hard
TL;DR: However the lawyer representing Arias and Ramos, Marc Prokosch, told Reuters that they had entered the country legally to apply for asylum.
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Biery also cited the Bible in his order and included a photo of Ramos: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
The federal government has claimed that Arias and Ramos entered the US illegally. However the lawyer representing Arias and Ramos, Marc Prokosch, told Reuters that they had entered the country legally to apply for asylum.
US Vice President JD Vance defended the arrest, saying "just because you're a parent doesn't mean that you get complete immunity from law enforcement."
Ramos attends Valley View Elementary school in the Columbia Heights Public Schools district, where he is enrolled in the "PreK 4" program. Columbia Heights said three other students in the district had been detained by ICE.
Protesters decried Ramos' case; Texas congressional Democrats visited detention center
TL;DR: Protesters in Minneapolis calling for the end of ICE operations in the city have raised the alarm about Ramos' case.
Protesters in Minneapolis calling for the end of ICE operations in the city have raised the alarm about Ramos' case.
There have also been rallies in front of the Texas detention center where the boy and his father are being held.
Texas Democratic Representatives Joaquin Castro, Jasmine Crockett and Greg Casar met with Ramos and his father this week at Dilley Detention Center as they pushed for the immediate release of the pair. Castro had told US media that Ramos was getting "depressed" in custody.
In his latest statement after Judge Biery ordered the release of Ramos and Arias, Castro said he "reached out to Liam's mom and lawyers to let them know I will continue to do everything I can to make sure he is safe."
Jasmine Crockett posted a screenshot of Judge Biery's order.
"Today is a great day, but please know, there are so many other children whose pics didn't go viral languishing at Dilley, unconstitutionally," Crockett said on X.
Curated by Fatima Al-Hassan
