The 5-year-old boy taken into ICE custody in Minneapolis has an active immigration case and cannot legally be deported while his claim is pending. Records show both the child, Liam Adrian Conejo Ramos, and his father have pending matters docketed Dec. 17, 2024, and are being held at the Dilley family detention center in Texas. ICE and DHS officials say the father attempted to flee and left the child, while advocates and the family’s lawyers dispute parts of that account and warn about conditions for detained children.
5-Year-Old in ICE Custody Has Active Immigration Case, Records Show
Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, is detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after arriving home from preschool on Jan. 20, 2026, in a Minneapolis suburb. / Credit: Ali Daniels / AP
A 5-year-old boy taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Minneapolis area this week has an active immigration case and, according to Justice Department records reviewed by CBS News, cannot be legally deported while his claim remains pending.
Records Show Pending Proceedings
Justice Department documents from the Executive Office for Immigration Review show that both the child, Liam Adrian Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos, have immigration matters listed as "pending." Those records do not show final removal orders for either individual, meaning an immigration judge must still hear and decide their claims before any deportation could occur. The family’s case was docketed on Dec. 17, 2024.
How Officials Tracked the Family
CBS News obtained the government files after receiving the "A numbers" assigned to both Liam and his father. These identification numbers are issued by U.S. authorities to track immigration applications and removal proceedings for immigrants in various statuses.
Current Location and Protest
According to ICE’s detainee tracking system and agency statements, Liam and his father are being held at the Dilley family detention center in Texas, a long-term facility ICE uses to house families with minor children. An attorney who represents migrant children in federal custody told CBS News that families at Dilley staged a peaceful protest on Saturday, during which some children carried signs.
Disputed Accounts of the Arrest
Video and photos of the Jan. 20 ICE operation in the Minneapolis area that placed the pair into custody have circulated widely online and drawn national attention.
At a press conference, Marcos Charles, head of ICE’s deportation branch, said officers targeted the father and that Liam was inside a vehicle with his father when officers approached. Charles said the father fled on foot and "abandoned his child in the middle of winter in a vehicle," and that one officer remained with the boy while others arrested the father. Charles said officers cared for Liam and briefly took him to a drive-through restaurant; he also said agents tried to persuade people in the vehicle to accept the child but they "refused to take him in and open the door."
By contrast, advocates and the family’s attorneys have disputed aspects of ICE’s account. A pastor who said he spoke with the child’s mother told CNN she was "terrified" and that neighbors intervened when agents appeared to be trying to use the child to coax the mother outside.
Background On Entry And CBP One
Representatives for the family say the Ramos family is from Ecuador and entered the U.S. in 2024 to request asylum. Their lawyer said the family obtained an appointment to enter at an official southern border crossing through a Biden-era system that used the CBP One phone app. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said the agency has "no record" of the family using CBP One.
The Trump administration, after taking office, ended the CBP One process, rebranded aspects of the system as CBP Home, and changed how the program is used — including rescinding some protections previously extended to migrants who entered under the earlier program. Officials say some people who entered under the program have since been targeted for arrest or removal, including at immigration court appointments held in cities across the country.
Legal Context And Health Concerns
Immigration law permits officials to detain people who lack lawful status while their claims are adjudicated, even if those claims are pending. A pending claim, however, prevents an immediate deportation until an immigration judge issues a removal order.
Immigrant advocates have raised concerns about conditions at the Dilley facility and the effects of detention on children. Neha Desai of the National Center for Youth Law said minors at Dilley have experienced declining physical and mental health and described conditions as "fundamentally unsafe for anyone, let alone young children." ICE officials have defended care at Dilley, saying families receive medical care, education services, recreation and religious support.
Legal Representation
Prokosh Law LLC, the firm representing Liam and his father, said their primary concern is the safety and well-being of their clients and securing their release from detention. The firm declined to provide additional details to the press while it pursues legal avenues on the family’s behalf.
What remains clear: Court records show the child and his father have pending cases, which must be adjudicated before any removal can take place, even as their detention continues and officials and advocates offer competing accounts of the arrest and conditions in custody.
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