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A US federal judge has issued a temporary order barring the deportation of a five-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father, whose arrest last week in Minnesota quickly became another lightning rod for US divisions over immigration under the Trump administration.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any dismissal or transfer of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is stayed until a trial is underway.
The father and son are currently in the Family Detention Center in Dilley, Texas, approximately 1,200 miles south of their home in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
They were taken into custody outside their home last week. Neighbors and school officials said federal immigration agents used the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door of his home so his mother would answer.
The Department of Homeland Security called this description of events a “abject lie.” It says Arias fled on foot and left the boy in a moving vehicle in their driveway.
Five-year-old Liam Ramos was arrested Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an operation to arrest his father, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said. The family’s attorney said both are now being held at an ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas.
Ramos’ attorney, Jennifer Scarborough, and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to phone or email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on the decision.
Federal authorities say the father was in the United States illegally, without providing details. Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, said the man entered the country without proper documents in December 2024.
The family’s lawyer said he had a pending asylum application allowing him to stay in the country.
