On January 20, 2026, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old boy, on his walk home from school in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. This happened during the surge of deployment of ICE agents in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area.
The five-year-old and his father were released from the U.S. immigration and custom enforcement custody and have returned to their home in Minnesota after being detained by the federal immigration office.
This event gained widespread attention from the media after a photo of Conejo Ramos standing facing a black car in the snow with a blue bunny hat and a Spiderman backpack, surrounded by ICE officers.
The father and son were held at a detention facility in Dilley, Texas, until federal judges ordered their release at the end of January. After the release order, U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro, a Democrat from Texas, escorted the family back to Minnesota. Several lawmakers and community members welcomed them home.
According to Houston Public Media news story, Rep. Castro says “child freed from Dilley is recovering as a measles outbreak heightens scrutiny of ICE facility.”
“I wanted to make sure that we got him and his dad back to San Antonio and ready for the flight the next morning,” Castro said, adding that local residents donated clothing and pajamas for the child.
This case has national attention toward how immigration policies affect families and children.