Judge Fred Biery Orders Release of 5-Year-Old Liam Conejo Ramos and Father
Biery gave ICE until Feb. 3, 2025 to release Liam Conejo Ramos and Adrian Conejo Arias from the Dilley family center, court documents say.
Overview
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued an order on Jan. 31, 2025 directing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, from the South Texas Family Residential Center no later than Feb. 3, 2025, according to court documents.
The order responds to the Jan. 20, 2025 detention of the pair in Columbia Heights, Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge after photographs of Liam wearing a bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack circulated nationally, court filings show.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE did not target the child and that Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias fled on foot and left the boy, a version disputed by the family's lawyers and Columbia Heights school officials who said agents used the child "as bait," officials said.
The Dilley family residential center houses about 1,100 people and DHS said roughly 3,000 agents were deployed for the Minnesota surge with more than 3,000 apprehensions since December, court records and DHS statements show.
The family's attorneys said they will seek immediate reunification and further litigation and that Adrian Conejo Arias has a first immigration hearing scheduled later in February, according to court filings and lawyers.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a human-interest account critical of ICE by foregrounding the child’s vulnerability, evocative images (hat/backpack), sympathetic voices (family, school, lawmakers) and a judge’s scathing ruling. DHS/ICE defenses appear but are presented later and as rebuttals, reducing their prominence.
Sources (36)
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FAQ
The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, is a detention facility housing about 1,100 people, where Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were held after transfer from Minnesota.[1]
They were detained on January 20, 2025, in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, during Operation Metro Surge, as part of ICE enforcement actions; a photo of Liam with a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack went viral.[2]
Judge Biery ruled on January 31, 2025, that the detention was unconstitutional, ordering release by February 3, 2025, criticizing ICE for traumatizing children and violating due process in pursuit of deportation quotas.[2]
DHS claims ICE did not target the child and the father fled on foot leaving the boy; family lawyers and school officials dispute this, saying agents used the child as 'bait' to check the home.[2]
They are to be released while immigration proceedings continue, with Adrian Conejo Arias having a first hearing later in February 2025; the ruling addresses custody, not case merits, and attorneys plan further litigation.[1]
History
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