Democratic lawmakers called Wednesday for the immediate release of Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old detained by federal agents in Minnesota, after visiting him and his father in an immigration holding facility.
The detention of the boy — seized while wearing a Spider-Man backpack — has become a flashpoint, as anger has continued to grow over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and deportation efforts. Critics called his detention emblematic of the callousness of the administration’s policies, while the Department of Homeland Security said the boy had not been targeted or arrested.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained the pair in Columbia Heights, Minn., shortly after Adrian Conejo Arias, Liam’s father, collected him from school, according to local officials. They were then taken to an immigration detention center in Dilly, Texas, about 70 miles south of San Antonio.
Representative Joaquin Castro of Texas said on Wednesday that he had met with the pair for about 30 minutes alongside Jasmine Crockett, another Democratic representative from Texas. Mr. Castro said he promised them that they would do “everything we could” to ensure Liam was released.
“He’s been asking about his family, his mom and his classmates, saying that he wants to go and be back in school with his classmates,” Mr. Castro told reporters at a news conference, adding that Liam should be “released immediately.”
Mr. Conejo Arias told the lawmakers that Liam had been “very depressed” since being detained and hadn’t been eating well, Mr. Castro said. During their meeting, the boy seemed lethargic and lay in his father’s arms, he added.
“The sad tragedy of all of this is that Liam is emblematic of the inhumanity of our detention system and ICE operations,” Mr. Castro said. “There are many other kids just like Liam.”
During the lawmakers’ visit, roughly 100 demonstrators rallied outside the detention center where the pair were being held.
The Department of Homeland Security said Mr. Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador, had entered the country illegally in December 2024. Officials said that agents had not targeted or arrested Liam, but rather that Mr. Conejo Arias had told agents that he wanted Liam to remain with him.
A lawyer for the father and son said in court filings that the two had entered the country legally, following U.S. government guidelines for asylum seekers. On Monday, a federal judge temporarily blocked their deportation while they challenged the case in court.
Aaron Boxerman is a Times reporter covering Israel and Gaza. He is based in Jerusalem.
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