🧸⚖️ Officials deny fast-tracking asylum case after Minneapolis boy detention sparks backlash nationwide immigration enforcement dispute
Immigration court proceedings continue, with the asylum claim pending and scrutiny of enforcement tactics ongoing.
🧸⚖️ Officials deny fast-tracking asylum case after Minneapolis boy detention sparks backlash nationwide immigration enforcement dispute
Associated Press.- Federal authorities denied trying to accelerate the removal proceedings of a Minneapolis family whose 5-year-old son was detained during a recent immigration crackdown that drew national outrage. Images of the boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, wearing a bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack while surrounded by immigration officers fueled criticism. The family’s attorney said the government sought an unusually fast end to the father’s asylum case, calling the move extraordinary and possibly retaliatory. The Department of Homeland Security rejected that claim, saying the case is proceeding under standard removal rules, not expedited removal. The child and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias of Ecuador, were detained Jan. 20 in a Minneapolis suburb and transferred to a facility in Dilley, Texas. A judge ordered their release, and they returned to Minnesota on Feb. 1. DHS also disputed allegations that agents used the child to draw his mother outside, calling that account false.
Five key facts
The boy and his father were detained on Jan. 20 and sent to Dilley, Texas, before a judge ordered their release.
DHS says the case is not an expedited removal, rejecting claims of retaliation.
The father allegedly entered the U.S. illegally in December 2024, according to DHS.
The family’s lawyer says an asylum claim is pending, allowing him to remain in the U.S.
Neighbors accused agents of using the child as “bait,” an allegation DHS flatly denied. (Not in summary: DHS says the father fled on foot, leaving the child in a running vehicle.)
Why it matters
The case has become a flashpoint over how immigration enforcement affects children and families, testing public trust and due process.
What’s next
Immigration court proceedings continue, with the asylum claim pending and scrutiny of enforcement tactics ongoing.