Federal immigration authorities have denied they sought to end asylum claims quickly for a Minneapolis family that includes a 5-year-old boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, who was detained with his father during an immigration crackdown that has shaken the area.
Danielle Molliver, a lawyer for Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, told The New York Times that the government was attempting to speed up deportation proceedings. She described the actions as “extraordinary” and said they were possibly “retaliatory,” according to the report.
The Department of Homeland Security disputed that characterization. In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a DHS official, said, “These are regular removal proceedings. They are not in expedited removal,” adding that “there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.”
Molliver also told the Times that an immigration judge gave her additional time to argue the family’s case during a closed Friday hearing. The family’s next step in immigration court was set for Friday as well, with Kristen Stuenkel, a spokesperson for Liam’s district, the Columbia Heights Public Schools, saying the family was sequestered pending that hearing.
The detention that triggered the public outcry happened in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20, according to the report. The father and boy were originally detained in Texas and later ordered released by a judge, returning to Minnesota on Feb. 1.
The case has also drawn scrutiny over how federal officers interacted with the child during the detention, after neighbors and school officials accused officers of using Liam as “bait.” The DHS, in response, called that description an “abject lie,” and said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in the driveway.
The government also said the father entered the United States illegally in December 2024, while Molliver said Adrian entered legally using the CBP One app and that his pending asylum claim allows him to remain in the country.