Family of Minnesota 5-year-old detained by ICE 'very disappointed' after losing asylum case

Sofia Barnett and Tim Harlow, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Mar 19, 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, the attorney representing the family confirmed Thursday.

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, Minneapolis-based lawyer Danielle Molliver said.

The family “is very disappointed,” Molliver said in a phone interview with the Minnesota Star Tribune. “They were hopeful, at the minimum, they would get their day in court and have an audience and present their testimony.”

MPR News first reported on the asylum ruling.

Molliver said her office, Nwokocha & Operana, has filed an appeal and now has until the end of April to submit any supporting documents and statements to the Board of Immigration Appeals, or BIA.

If the decision ultimately stands, the family could be deported to Ecuador, where they are from. With the major setback, Molliver said “every day is a struggle” for the family, now left in limbo as to how long they will be able to stay in the United States. It is unknown if the family will even be allowed to finish the school year as the decision now rests with the immigration board.

“It seems the government wants to expedite these cases,” Molliver said, noting that in the past families such as the Ramoses would get more time. “It all depends on how long the BIA takes. They don’t want to go back to Ecuador.”

Molliver said she is requesting the Department of Homeland Security consider “humanitarian factors and due process” in its enforcement of immigration law.

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 flash points 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.

Columbia Heights Public Schools said in a statement that the immigration judge’s decision is “heartbreaking.”

“The detention in January of Liam and his father shed light on the harm caused by Operation Metro Surge, during which many children and families have been detained,” the district’s statement said. “While we respect the legal process, we cannot ignore the profound human impact — especially on children — of this federal action, which has disrupted the lives of so many of our community members who entered this country through legal means."

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