'Ill-Conceived': US Judge Orders Release Of 5-Year-Old Detained In ICE Raid Near Minneapolis

Last Updated:February 01, 2026, 08:57 IST

The child was among four students detained by immigration officials in a Minneapolis suburb, according to the Columbia Heights Public School District.

The boy and his father, both from Ecuador, had entered the United States legally as asylum applicants. (AP)

A US federal judge has ordered the release of a five-year-old boy detained by immigration authorities during a raid in Minnesota, along with his father. US District Judge Fred Biery directed the release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his son, Liam Conejo Ramos, after they were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) earlier this month.

The child was among four students detained by immigration officials in a Minneapolis suburb, according to the Columbia Heights Public School District. The case drew national attention after a photograph of the boy wearing a blue bunny hat outside his home, with federal agents standing nearby, went viral.

“The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatising children," Judge Biery wrote in his ruling published on Saturday.

“Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place."

The boy and his father, both from Ecuador, had entered the United States legally as asylum applicants and were later transferred to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, their lawyer Marc Prokosch said earlier. Prokosch and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

School district officials said that, in addition to Liam, armed and masked officers also detained two 17-year-olds and a 10-year-old during the operation.

News world 'Ill-Conceived': US Judge Orders Release Of 5-Year-Old Detained In ICE Raid Near Minneapolis

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