Washington — Former President Donald J. Trump said his administration intends to pursue renewed detention efforts against Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old Minnesota boy recently released from federal custody, and his father, Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias, following a court order that allowed the family to return home.
In remarks delivered after the ruling, Trump criticized the decision by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, who ordered the pair released from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.
Trump argued that the judge erred in granting their freedom and said federal authorities would explore all lawful options to re-arrest the father and child as their immigration case proceeds.
“The judge was very wrong to let them go,” Trump said, asserting that immigration laws were violated and that detention and removal should follow.
His comments come days after Judge Biery issued a sharply worded opinion condemning the detention of a minor and questioning the legality of administrative warrants used by immigration officers.
Liam and his father were detained on January 20, 2026, outside their home in a Minneapolis suburb as the child returned from preschool.
The case drew national attention after images of Liam being taken into custody circulated widely, prompting public outcry and bipartisan concern over the treatment of children during immigration enforcement operations.
Judge Biery’s order required the government to release the child and his father “as soon as practicable,” emphasizing due-process protections under the Fourth Amendment and criticizing what he described as quota-driven enforcement practices.
Following the ruling, U.S. Representative Joaquín Castro escorted the family back to Minnesota, where Liam was reunited with his mother, Erika Ramos, who is pregnant.
Legal representatives for the family have said the pair entered the United States legally in 2024 and are pursuing an asylum claim that remains pending.
They maintain that the detention was improper and that any further attempt to re-detain the child would face immediate legal challenges.
Federal officials have not announced specific steps toward re-arrest, and the Department of Homeland Security has not issued updated guidance on how it would proceed in light of the judge’s order.
Civil rights advocates warn that renewed detention efforts could trigger additional court action and intensify scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices involving minors.
As the legal process continues, Liam’s case remains a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration policy, the limits of executive authority, and the protections afforded to children and families under U.S. law.
