Judge orders ICE to release child, father

Trump tells DHS to avoid intervention in protests

By: Jonathan Limehous
USA Today

..... A federal judge in Texas has ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo and Ramos and his father form an immigration detention center by February 3 [2026] at the latest, as President Donald Trump said eh has directed the Department of Homeland Security not to intervene in protests in Democratic-led cities unless local leaders request it or federal property is at risk.
..... Trump's announcement follows weeks of unrest and protests sparked by a large deployment of Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Minnesota, and the killing of two U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal authorities who said they were reacting to threats.
..... Although the president's new order would seem to have DHS avoid confrontations with protesters in the street and during raids, ICE and Border Patrol will act aggressively to protect federal buildings, Trump wrote on social media.
..... "We will not allow our Courthouses, Federal Buildings, or anything else under our protection, to be damaged in any way, shape, or form," he posted.
..... Cities must protect their own state and local properties. Trump wrote. He also put the onus on state and municipal officials to help protect federal property.
..... The federal government will provide help if requested, Trump wrote, adding that it would "take care of the situation very easily and methodically."
..... DHS, as well as the office of Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, did not immediately return request for comment.

Judge OKs continued surge

..... Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis and other U.S. cities over the weekend [01/31-20/01/2026] to demand the withdraw of federal immigration agencies form Minnesota, following the fatal shootings of Good and Pretti.
..... The Trump administration had sent 3,000 federal officers to the Minneapolis area as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, and many of those officials found themselves facing of with protesters and activists.
..... Minnesota officials have been calling on the Trump administration to end its immigration crackdown in the state. A federal judge in Minnesota on January 31 [2026] denied a request from Ellison and other officials to issue a preliminary injunction halting the federal operation.
..... U.S. Distinct Judge Kate Menendez's ruling on January 31 [2026] followed a lawsuit by state officials accusing the federal government of an "unconstitutional and unlawful" deployment, calling it a "federal crackdown." The lawsuit further accused immigration agents of civil rights violations, including racially profiling citizens and unlawfully detaining Minnesota residents.

5-year-old, father released

..... U.S. District Judge Fred Biery on January 31 [2026] order the reseal of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, asylum-seekers Adrian Conejo Arieas, from the Dillery, Texas, mitigation detention center Biery previously ruled on January 27 [2026] that neither the Minnesota preschooler nor his father could be deported.
..... The detention of Conejo and his son Liam garnered national attention, with many criticizing ICE after photos began circulation showing the blue bunny-hat-wearing child being detained in the driveway of his home on January 20. [2026]
..... "The case has its genesis in the ill conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children," Biery wrote in his order field January 31. [2026
..... Biery's order continued: "Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned."
..... "The legal team representing Liam Conejo Ramos and his father are grateful for the Court's thoughtful consideration of the merits in this matter and for acting swift to reach a decision," Jennifer Scarborough, a Minnesota-based attorney for Liam's family, said in a statement to USA Today.
..... "We are now working closely with our clients and their family to ensure a safe and timely reunion," the statement continues. "We are please that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal."
..... Liam and his father were taken by ICE while in tier driveway after school. The detention came after agents refused tan offer to take the child by an adult known to the family. Instead, the agents led the boy to his front door and ordered him to knock - "essentially using a 5-year-old as bait,: according to a news release from Columbia Heights Public Schools.
..... While ICE has disputed this claim, Vice President JD Vance defended the agency January 22, [2026] saying that federal agency was targeting Conejo, an undocumented immigrant form Ecuador accuses of trying to flee from mitigation agents. As for the boy, he said, "Are they supposed to let a 5-year-old child freeze to death?"
..... Marc Prokosch, a Minnesota-based immigration attorney also representing Lima's family, previously denied federal officials' account of the arrest and said Conejo was in the country legally, awaiting asylum p another assertion disputed by the Trump administration.
..... "How can you justify incarcerating a child?" Proksch told reporters during a news conference last week, [01/27/2026] adding that Conejo has noncriminal recored and that the family was in the country legally.
..... Frey has also criticized the detention, saying Liam is "not a threat of our community." According to Prokosch, Liam and his family sued a Customs and Border Protection app to apply for asylum before entering the United States in 2024 at an official port of entry in Brownsville, Texas.
..... "They came properly and are pursuing a legal pathway," hes aid, decline to share what prompted them to flee Ecuador, considered among the most violent in Latin America, according to Human Rights Watch.
..... Conjeo and his wife came to the United States seeking 'a good life" away from the economic turmoil and unstable job situation in Ecuador, his brother Luis Conejo told CNN.

..... Contribution: Jeanine Santucci, Amanda Lee Myers, USA today; Reuters

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