Report: Family of Minnesota 5-year-old detained by ICE loses asylum case, ordered deported

Sofia Barnett, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 18, 2026

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MINNEAPOLIS — An immigration judge has denied the asylum claims of a Columbia Heights family whose 5-year-old son became a national symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, their attorney told Minnesota Public Radio News on Wednesday.

Liam Conejo Ramos — the preschooler photographed in a blue bunny hat and Spiderman backpack as he was taken into custody — and his family are now appealing the ruling, according to their Minneapolis-based lawyer, Danielle Molliver. The appeal process could stretch for months or even years, MPR reports.

If the decision ultimately stands, the family could be deported to Ecuador, where they are from.

The ruling marks a significant turn in a case that has drawn widespread attention across Minnesota and beyond since January, when federal agents detained Liam and his father outside their Columbia Heights home. The two were transported to a family detention center in Texas before a federal judge ordered their release.

The family — which includes Liam, his 13-year-old brother and their parents, Adrian Conejo Arias and Erika Ramos, who is pregnant — had been seeking asylum in the United States after entering the country in 2024.

Liam and his father were detained Jan. 20 and returned home Feb. 1.

Federal officials moved earlier this year to terminate the family’s asylum case, setting the stage for the recent decision by an immigration judge.

Liam’s detention quickly became one of the most visible flashpoints in Minnesota’s sweeping immigration enforcement surge. Images of the young boy surrounded by agents circulated widely, fueling protests, political backlash and renewed scrutiny of how federal authorities handle cases involving children.