Judge denies DHS push for 'retaliatory'​ deportation of 5-year-old’s family

The Trump administration’s bid to expedite deportation proceedings against 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family faltered Friday as a judge granted them more time to plead their asylum case.

Danielle Molliver, an attorney for Ramos’ family, told CNN that a judge issued a continuance in the case, meaning it is postponed to a later date.

The US Department of Homeland Security filed a motion Wednesday seeking to fast-track the Ecuadorian family’s deportation. The family responded by asking the court for additional time to reply to the DHS motion.

Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public Schools, where Ramos is a student, told CNN that Friday’s ruling “provides additional time, and with that, continued uncertainty for a child and his family.”

“Our concern remains centered on Liam and all children who deserve stability, safety, and the opportunity to be in school without fear,” Stenvik added. “We will continue to advocate for outcomes that prioritize children.”

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, in the driveway of their Columbia Heights home on January 20 during Operation Metro Surge, the Trump administration’s ongoing deadly immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities.

They were taken to the Dilley Immigration Processing Center southwest of San Antonio, Texas. Run by ICE and private prison profiteer CoreCivic, the facility has been plagued by reports of poor health and hygiene conditions and accusations of inadequate medical care for children.

Detainees report prison-like conditions and say they’ve been served moldy food infested with worms and forced to drink putrid water. Some have described the facility as “truly a living hell.”

Ramos, who fell ill during his detention in Dilley, and his father were ordered released earlier this month on a federal judge’s order, and is now back in Minnesota.

Molliver accused the Trump administration of retaliating against the family following their release. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed that “there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.”

Arias told Minnesota Public Radio Friday that he is uncertain about his family’s future.

“The government is moving many pieces, it’s doing everything possible to do us harm, so that they’ll probably deport us,” he said. “We live with that fear too.”

Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), who helped accompany Ramos and his father back to Minnesota, said at a Friday news conference that DHS “should leave Liam alone.”

“His family came in legally through the asylum process,” Castro said. “And when I left the Dilley detention center, one of the ICE officers explained to me that his father was on a one-year parole in place, so they should allow that to continue.”