Family loses asylum case after 5-year-old, father were detained during viral Minnesota ICE raid

The asylum claim of the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, the preschooler who became highlighted in the national news media when his dad was detained by ICE, has been denied. The family is appealing the ruling.

Ramos' father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was detained in Minneapolis on January 20 while he and Liam were out driving. Conejo Arias fled, leaving the child behind, authorities said at the time. DHS said that they made multiple attempts to give the mother custody of the child, but she refused. At the time, Liam was sent to an immigration detention facility along with his father back in January.

Liam and his father were later released on the order of a federal judge. With the new decision, however, the father and the child have been taken back into custody. If the decision to deny their asylum claim ultimately stands, they face deportation back to Ecuador, per The Minnesota Star Tribune.

"A few weeks ago, an immigration judge based in New York issued a decision to terminate their asylum application and order them removed from the United States. And since that decision was issued, we had to file an appeal to an office called the Board of Immigration Appeals, who submitted that appeal, and it is pending before the board. So while the case is pending before the board, the family can remain in the United States until that appeal is adjudicated," said Paschal Nwokocha, the immigration lawyer working with the Ramos family.

The entire family, which includes Liam, a 13-year-old brother, as well as their parents, are now facing deportation. They entered the US in 2024. After being detained in January, they were released on February 1. In response to the denial of the family's asylum claim, Columbia Heights Public Schools said in a statement: “The detention in January of Liam and his father shed light on the harm caused by Operation Metro Surge, during which many children and families have been detained."

“While we respect the legal process, we cannot ignore the profound human impact — especially on children — of this federal action, which has disrupted the lives of so many of our community members who entered this country through legal means," the school added.