Judge Orders Release Of 5-Year-Old Boy And Father From ICE Detention

A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, who were held for more than a week at a family immigration detention center in Texas after being seized outside their Minnesota home.

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled that Liam and his father, Adrian Ramos, must be released from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley “as soon as practicable” and no later than Tuesday while their immigration case proceeds.

The pair were taken into custody by immigration agents from their snowy suburban driveway in Minneapolis and transported more than 1,300 miles to Texas. Images of an agent holding Liam’s Spider-Man backpack as the child stood wearing a cartoon bunny hat sparked national outrage.

In a sharply worded opinion, Judge Biery condemned what he described as an “ill-conceived and incompetently implemented” enforcement effort driven by daily deportation quotas, saying it appeared to require “traumatizing children.”

The judge accused the government of ignoring core constitutional principles, criticized the use of administrative warrants signed internally by immigration officials, and likened current practices to abuses warned against by America’s founders. He wrote that executive-issued warrants fail basic probable-cause standards, calling it “the fox guarding the henhouse.”

Biery acknowledged that Liam and his father could still face deportation under U.S. immigration law, but said any such outcome must occur through a “more orderly and humane” process.

The ruling comes amid a broader immigration crackdown that has swept up families and children, including legal residents. Liam is the fourth child from his school district detained by immigration agents in recent weeks, local officials said.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz welcomed the ruling, saying, “It should not take a court order to get a toddler out of a prison.”

Key Takeaways

• Federal judge ordered immediate release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father

• Child was detained and sent 1,300 miles to Texas after ICE arrest in Minnesota

• Judge blasted deportation quotas and use of administrative warrants

• Case reignited outrage over children caught in immigration crackdowns

• Family may still face deportation — but under a more humane process, court said

SOURCE: CNN

They could have thought about addressing a kid first. Embarrassing.

Duh!