A federal judge has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from immigration detention by Feb. 3, granting an emergency request after national outrage over the child’s arrest.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in San Antonio, Texas, ruled Saturday that the boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, must be freed from the Dilley family detention center "as soon as practicable," and no later than the Feb. 3 deadline.
"Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency," wrote the judge.
"And the rule of law be damned."
The judge’s order follows a habeas petition challenging their detention and prohibits their removal or transfer while that petition is pending.
The case ignited widespread criticism after videos and photos of Liam in custody circulated online showing the preschooler in a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack surrounded by federal agents during a Jan. 20 immigration operation in Columbia Heights, Minn.
Those images sparked protests and intense public debate about the treatment of children in federal immigration enforcement actions.
Biery, a Clinton-appointed judge, has been sharply critical of the government’s handling of the case, noting in earlier rulings that the pursuit of deportation quotas was implemented "even if it requires traumatizing children."
The emergency release order underscores the court’s concern over the child’s welfare and procedural due process.
Liam and his father were first taken into custody outside their home shortly after the boy arrived from preschool.
School officials and family attorneys dispute the government’s account of the arrest, saying adults were present who could have cared for Liam and rejecting claims he was abandoned.
The family’s attorney has said the father and son have an active asylum claim, challenging assertions that they entered the United States illegally.
The detention in Dilley, a facility designed for family immigration cases, has also come under scrutiny.
Critics, including local lawmakers, immigrant rights groups, and community members, have raised concerns about conditions inside the center and the emotional impact on the child.
The judge’s order to release the pair by Feb. 3 marks a significant legal setback for federal immigration authorities and a moment of reprieve for a case that has become emblematic of broader tensions over enforcement policies.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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