A federal judge ruled to temporarily bar federal immigration officials from deporting 5-year-old Minneapolis resident Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos.
Announced on Tuesday, the judge ruled that they could not be transferred out of Texas, where they are currently located. Both father and son are being held in the Dilley ICE detention center. The facility is reserved for immigrant families with children who have been accused of committing a crime.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that Adrian Ramos is an illegal immigrant and accused him of running away from ICE officers. An attorney for the father confirmed he has no criminal record, even though he is still being held in the facility.
ICE agents claimed that Adrian attempted to flee on foot, leaving five-year-old Liam with the agents. They also claimed that they attempted to get the family to take the child but they “refused to take him in.”
Per Columbia Heights Public Schools, the agents used Liam as “bait,” denying an adult familiar with the family the opportunity to take the child and instead ordering him to knock on the family’s door. Friends of the family and school administrators maintain that the child’s mother did not open the door under the instruction of the neighbors and out of fear that she would also be detained. In the past month alone, three other children from the same district as Liam have been taken away by ICE agents.
Both father and son remain detained nationwide. Per the judge’s latest ruling, however, the detention is not lawful since their case is still pending and they are legally pursuing a pathway to citizenship.
“These are not illegal aliens,” said the family’s attorney, Marc Prokosch, via CNN. “They were following all the established protocols, pursuing their claim for asylum, showing up for their court hearings, and posed no safety, no flight risk and never should have been detained.”
The latest announcement comes as Minnesota continues to be a battleground for ICE agents amidst nationwide protests. As of now, the state has had 100 court order violations, according to an order published by Chief Judge Patrick Schiltz, who also canceled the hearing for ICE Director Todd Lyons.
The order was released on the same day as a vigil was held for 37-year-old Alex Pretti. On Jan. 24, Pretti was fatally shot by Customs and Border Protection Agents. According to a report released by the DHS, someone claimed that Pretti had a gun, after which a Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer both fired their guns at him. The report did not mention the nurse attacking the agents as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem previously claimed.
Videos recorded by eyewitnesses showed that Pretti was not holding a weapon as he interacted with an agent. Another video showed the federal agent disposing of Pretti’s gun moments before he was shot, with the report corroborating that the federal agent had possession of the weapon.
In the aftermath, both federal agents were placed on administrative leave. Border Patrol commander Greg Bovino was similarly demoted following the second fatal shooting. He is now expected to leave Minneapolis to resume duties as the chief of the El Centro, California sector before retiring.
Along with the murder of Pretti, ICE agents once again made headlines as they tried to get into the consulate of Ecuador in Minneapolis. Announced by the Ecuador Foreign Ministry, on Tuesday, the agents were prevented from accessing the consulate by staff members who aimed to protect nationals in the building.
Following the attempt, a “note of protest” was sent to the U.S. Embassy in the nation’s capital, Quito. The ministry identified the incident as an “attempted incursion” that should “not be repeated.”
In response to ICE’s presence, Minnesota and Illinois officials filed separate lawsuits invoking the 10th Amendment. The 10th Amendment concerns the division of powers between the federal and state governments.
In their case, both states argue that the administration’s actions are “coercive” as it seeks to compel the states to adopt its policies. In the lawsuit, officials aim to invoke the 10th Amendment to prevent courts from enforcing certain immigration laws. The leaders also added to the case, asking the courts to restore the conditions that existed in the states before Operation Metro Surge began on Dec. 1.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez reportedly began hearing arguments on the case. It is unknown when a decision will be made.
