Arrested by ICE in Minneapolis

(Minneapolis) Liam Conejo Ramos, the 5-year-old boy arrested ten days ago in Minneapolis by the immigration police and whose photo, blue hat on his head, had gone around the world, is back home after being released on Saturday, a Democratic elected official announced on Sunday.

“Liam is now at home, with his hat and his backpack,” wrote on

On January 20, he and his father were arrested on the snowy streets of Minneapolis as part of a massive immigration enforcement (ICE) operation aimed at deporting undocumented immigrants. This police force is the target of virulent criticism for its methods perceived as brutal and because of the death of two demonstrators under the bullets of federal agents in January in Minneapolis.

The photo of the boy during his arrest, where he appears frightened, wearing a blue cap decorated with two rabbit ears and carrying a backpack held by a figure dressed in black, moved the United States and beyond.

US Vice President JD Vance said the boy had been taken into care by ICE after his father, presented as an illegal immigrant, had fled to avoid being apprehended.

Father and son had since been detained 1,800 kilometers away, in a detention center for migrant families in Texas, until Saturday, when a federal judge ordered their release.

The magistrate affirmed, in a particularly scathing judgment, that “this case had its origins in the establishment, poorly conceived and poorly executed by the government, of daily quotas for expulsions, even if this involves traumatizing children. »

“It also appears that the government is ignoring an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence,” wrote this Texas judge appointed by a Democratic president.

Following this decision, father and son were released on Saturday and brought back to Minnesota on Sunday morning by Joaquin Castro, the latter said. “We will not stop until all the families, all the children, are back home,” he assured.