MINNEAPOLIS — An immigration judge denied the asylum claim of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father and ordered their deportation to Ecuador. Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias, were taken into custody in a Minneapolis suburb on January 20, 2026.

The family's lawyers are appealing the ruling by Judge John Burns. "We're just gravely disappointed in the judge's misguided decision. We're committed to the family and we'll fight the appeal, obviously, the best that we can," said Danielle Molliver, an immigration lawyer. An appeal could take years to move through the courts.

They were held for 10 days in a Texas detention center before a judge ordered their release. Liam Conejo Ramos has returned to his suburban Minneapolis school. Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were badly shaken by their time in detention.

The arrests occurred during a surge of thousands of immigration officers across the Minneapolis area. Neighbors and school officials accused federal immigration officers of telling Liam Conejo Ramos to knock on his house door to draw his mother outside. The Department of Homeland Security described that accusation as an "abject lie."

Officials said Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias fled on foot and left his son in a vehicle in their driveway. Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias denied fleeing on foot and leaving his son in a vehicle in their driveway.

The government said Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias entered the United States illegally in December 2024. The family's lawyer said Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias entered the United States legally in December 2024, requested asylum, and that his asylum claim allows him to stay in the United States.

Approximately 3,000 federal officers surged into Minnesota at the height of the immigration enforcement crackdown. Government attorneys noted that Operation Metro Surge officially ended on February 12, 2026.

U.S. District Judge Jerry Blackwell granted an injunction requested by Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the United Church of Christ, and a Catholic priest who sued the Department of Homeland Security. Under the injunction, clergy will be allowed in-person pastoral visits to all detainees at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis.

Three members of Congress from Minnesota were turned away when they attempted to inspect the facility. After gaining access, the members of Congress reported poor conditions. Last month, a different federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to provide new detainees at Whipple immediate access to legal counsel before removal to other facilities.