US judge halts deportation of 5-year-old and his father detained by ICE in Minneapolis

A US federal judge on Tuesday blocked the deportation of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias who were arrested last week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Minneapolis. His arrest soon went viral, as the 5-year-old Ecudorian boy was taken into custody, the news became the cause of fresh anger against the sweeping action of ICE.

The federal judge on Tuesday blocked “any possible or anticipated removal or transfer” of the boy and his father, who brought a lawsuit against the Trump administration to secure his release. According to the attorney for Liam and his father, the two are in the US on an active asylum case and have entered the country through authorised ports of entry.

Immigration officials are also blocked from sending the father-son duo “outside of this judicial district during the pendency of this litigation and until further order of this court.” The preschooler and his father are still being held at the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley, Texas.

Also Read: ICE agents detain 5-year-old boy during immigration operation in Minnesota

Wave of children detentions

Days after Liam and his father were detained, a two-year-old girl, Chloe and her father were detained after an immigration officer broke the man’s car window and arrested them on their way home from the grocery store. Chloe and Liam are among the five children detained by the ICE in Minneapolis in recent weeks.

“The sense of safety in our community and around our schools is shaken, and our hearts are shattered. Honestly, at the end of the day, children should be in school with their classmates, and we want to focus on the purpose of educating our children,” said Mary Granlund, the school board chair for Columbia Heights Public Schools in Minnesota.

Protest in Minneapolis

Protests have escalated in Minneapolis in sub-freezing conditions. The protestors on Friday, January 23, carried out a “Blackout Friday”, a statewide economic blackout, followed by a general strike dubbed "ICE Out of Minnesota: A Day of Truth and Freedom". Soon after that, an ICU nurse, Alex Pretti, was brutally executed by federal officers on January 24, fuelling another wave of protest. There were memorials, vigils, and widespread marches by thousands; protesters used garbage dumpsters to block streets and chanted "ICE out now". Minneapolis is on the verge of a civil war. Governor Tim Walz has deployed the National Guard to protect the federal buildings. There had been instances of racial profiling of MPD and harassment of police personnel of colour. Minneapolis police have also condemned the actions of ICE. They claimed they had received no communication of the shooting. Reports suggest that the two parties are heading for a collision course. The Trump administration has deployed border czar Tom Hooman, and Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino will be reassigned for the de-escalation of the situation.