US Department of Homeland Security Insists Deportation of Five-Year-Old Ecuadorian Asylum Seeker is Not Retaliatory.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed it will continue to seek the deportation of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, despite their recent detention in Minnesota. The news comes as a setback for the family's lawyer, who claimed that the DHS was seeking expedited removal of the pair as retaliation.
In a statement on Friday, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that the deportation proceedings are "regular and standard procedure" with no intention to retaliate against the family or their lawyers. The department has denied allegations that immigration officials used the five-year-old child as "bait" for his father's arrest.
Liam Conejo Ramos was initially detained on January 20, sparking widespread attention after photos of him being escorted by federal agents went viral. His father, Adrian Conejo Arias, was also arrested and the pair were quickly transported to an immigration processing center in Texas.
The family had sought asylum in the US after fleeing persecution in Ecuador. Their lawyers claimed that the DHS's actions were a clear attempt to intimidate them into dropping their asylum claims.
"We seek nothing more than some modicum of due process and the rule of law," Judge Fred Biery wrote in his decision to release Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from detention on January 27.
The case has highlighted concerns about the Trump administration's immigration policies, particularly in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. The administration has been criticized for its heavy-handed tactics during Operation Metro Surge, which deployed as many as 3,000 agents to the state at its peak.
In a separate development, two US citizens were shot dead by immigration agents in the last month alone: Renee Nicole Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24. The Trump administration announced this week that it would withdraw nearly 700 immigration agents amid growing public outcry over these incidents and others reports of violence against bystanders and warrantless arrests.
The detention of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father remains a contentious issue, with the family's lawyers accusing the DHS of trying to intimidate them into dropping their asylum claims. The case is ongoing, with the family set to appear in court again soon.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed it will continue to seek the deportation of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, despite their recent detention in Minnesota. The news comes as a setback for the family's lawyer, who claimed that the DHS was seeking expedited removal of the pair as retaliation.
In a statement on Friday, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that the deportation proceedings are "regular and standard procedure" with no intention to retaliate against the family or their lawyers. The department has denied allegations that immigration officials used the five-year-old child as "bait" for his father's arrest.
Liam Conejo Ramos was initially detained on January 20, sparking widespread attention after photos of him being escorted by federal agents went viral. His father, Adrian Conejo Arias, was also arrested and the pair were quickly transported to an immigration processing center in Texas.
The family had sought asylum in the US after fleeing persecution in Ecuador. Their lawyers claimed that the DHS's actions were a clear attempt to intimidate them into dropping their asylum claims.
"We seek nothing more than some modicum of due process and the rule of law," Judge Fred Biery wrote in his decision to release Liam Conejo Ramos and his father from detention on January 27.
The case has highlighted concerns about the Trump administration's immigration policies, particularly in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. The administration has been criticized for its heavy-handed tactics during Operation Metro Surge, which deployed as many as 3,000 agents to the state at its peak.
In a separate development, two US citizens were shot dead by immigration agents in the last month alone: Renee Nicole Good on January 7 and Alex Pretti on January 24. The Trump administration announced this week that it would withdraw nearly 700 immigration agents amid growing public outcry over these incidents and others reports of violence against bystanders and warrantless arrests.
The detention of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father remains a contentious issue, with the family's lawyers accusing the DHS of trying to intimidate them into dropping their asylum claims. The case is ongoing, with the family set to appear in court again soon.
how can they do that to an asylum seeker who's just trying to escape persecution in their own country? the trump admin's immigration policies are literally the worst 
and now we're seeing the consequences, like innocent ppl getting killed by agents 
this whole thing is just a huge fail 
. It's just not right. My friend whose older sibling went through the asylum process last year said it was super stressful and emotional, and now this little guy is having to go through that too... like, what even is the point? 
The DHS needs to re-think their approach and prioritize humanity over procedure. It's just not fair to this family 
. i'm not saying it's right or anything, but sometimes you gotta separate emotion from fact 
.