Liam is back in Minnesota after a federal judge ordered his release following a detention in Texas that has become a focal point for criticism of immigration enforcement involving children. Adrian Conejo Arias, the boy’s father, denied a government account that he abandoned his son while being pursued by authorities, and he disputed details of Liam’s treatment while in federal custody.
Arias, who is originally from Ecuador, told ABC News that he loves his son and “would never abandon him,” disputing statements from the Department of Homeland Security. The account he gave also challenged the government’s assertions about what happened during the arrest and the period that followed. In his comments, Arias said Liam became sick while in federal custody and that medicine was withheld.
In a statement responding to Arias, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the government’s “facts in this case have NOT changed” and reiterated that Arias “abandoning his child” was part of the government’s version of events. McLaughlin said Arias fled on foot before he was arrested and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stayed with the boy. She did not address Arias’s statement about Liam being denied medication in custody.
Arias also said he was arrested unjustly and argued that he was in the country legally, citing a pending asylum case. The Associated Press reported that a Justice Department immigration-court docket listed no future hearings for Arias as of the online record. The government said the father entered the U.S. illegally from Ecuador in December 2024, according to the AP account.
The renewed dispute came after a federal judge ordered over the weekend that Arias and Liam be freed. They were released Sunday and returned to Minnesota, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas. Castro said the pair had been detained in Texas and then returned after the order.
Neighbors celebrated Liam’s return, but his school in Columbia Heights canceled class after receiving bomb threats, authorities said. The AP reported that no dangerous devices were found and that the school was scheduled to resume classes Tuesday. Even before the threats, Principal Jason Kuhlman said the district felt under siege, describing that over two dozen parents of students at Valley View Elementary had been detained, leaving some children without caretakers.
Kuhlman said the school started offering online classes because some parents were afraid to come to school, even as volunteers patrolled the grounds during drop-off and dismissal times. He said almost 200 students were absent one day in a school of about 570 students, while normally only 20 or 30 would be absent.
The AP also reported that Liam’s case offered a temporary lift of hope to other families affected by similar detentions. On Sunday, Luis Zuna showed photographs of his 10-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and said she and her mother, Rosa, had been detained while they were heading to a school bus stop on Jan. 6. Zuna said the family had been held for nearly a month at the same facility where Liam and his father were held, and he described sending money for calls and food because Elizabeth, he said, did not like the meals. Zuna said that following word of Liam’s return, he felt “hope” that his own family would be reunited soon.
The broader fallout has included changes in access and enforcement oversight. The AP reported that Democratic Rep. Kelly Morrison, a physician, said she was denied entry into an ICE detention facility near Minneapolis last month and described what she said were inhumane conditions, including a lack of beds and “minimal food,” in a social media post. The AP further reported that a federal judge in Washington issued a temporary restraining order sought by Morrison and other members of Congress against a Trump administration policy that had blocked lawmakers’ access to ICE detention facilities unless they gave at least a week’s notice, and that the judge issued a new restraining order after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem moved to reinstate the seven-day notice policy.
The immigration crackdown under President Donald Trump has also been marked by protests and high-profile incidents. The AP said the arrest and release of Arias and Liam unfolded during that crackdown, and it cited protests that included the shooting deaths of two American citizens by federal officers. The AP reported that Trump directed his border adviser to oversee the crackdown after the fatal shooting of intensive care nurse Alex Pretti, and that border adviser Tom Homan said agents would continue enforcing federal law while urging local and state officials to cooperate. In the latest fallout, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on Monday every DHS officer in Minneapolis would be issued body-worn cameras.
Even as Liam returned home, the disagreement over what happened in custody and during the arrest remained unresolved, with Arias saying he did not abandon his child and the administration saying the account “has NOT changed,” and with school officials facing disruptions and security concerns tied to the broader dispute.