A federal judge has ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Conejos Ramos and his father from the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, according to a ruling obtained by CNN.

Liam and his father were taken by immigration agents from his snowy suburban Minneapolis driveway and sent 1,300 miles to a Texas detention facility designed to detain families. They have been detained for more than a week.

The order specifies the preschooler and his father be released “as soon as practicable” and no later than Tuesday as their immigration case proceeds through the court system. The ruling, shared with CNN by the judge’s courtroom deputy, was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News.

In a scathing opinion, which at times read more like a civics lesson, US District Judge Fred Biery admonished “the government’s ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence” and quoted Thomas Jefferson’s grievances against “a would-be authoritarian king,” saying today people “are hearing echos of that history.”

Liam’s detention – and the striking photo of an agent clutching the boy’s Spider-Man backpack as he stared from under a cartoon bunny hat – fed mounting outrage over the Trump administration’s massive immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and renewed the question: What happens to children when their parents are abruptly taken by ICE?

In another diversion from the norms of judicial writing, the judge included the now famous image of Liam at the end of his opinion, under his signature, along with references to the Bible passages Matthew 19:14 and John 11:35.

Liam’s case, Biery wrote, originated in “the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”

“Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency,” wrote the judge. “And the rule of law be damned.”

Biery also took aim at administrative warrants, which federal immigration agents often use to make arrests and which do not require a judge’s signature. “Administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster,” he wrote. “That is called the fox guarding the henhouse. The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer.”

Biery noted Liam and his father may well end up facing deportation anyway due to what he called the “arcane” US immigration system – but “that result should occur through a more orderly and humane policy than currently in place.”

The judge finished his colorful opinion by quoting Benjamin Franklin’s description of the nascent nation at the 1787 Constitutional Convention: “Well, Dr. Franklin, what do we have?” “A republic, if you can keep it.”

Though nationwide detentions have swept up some undocumented criminals – whom the Trump administration says they are targeting – they have also ensnared legal residents, families and small children. Liam is the fourth child from his school district to be taken away by immigration agents over a two-week period, Columbia Heights Public Schools said. And last weekend, a toddler was returned to her mother in Minneapolis after being similarly detained and sent to Texas with her father.

Liam’s school district said it was “so happy” to hear about the ruling. “We want all children to be released from detention centers and the reunification of families who have been unjustly separated,” read a statement from the district.

Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro, who visited the child and his father in the detention facility earlier this week, previously said the boy was “very depressed.”

Liam’s father told Castro his son has not been eating well, has been sleeping a lot and asks about his mother and classmates, the congressman said Wednesday.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/31/us/liam-ramos-judge-release-ice-detention

They have an immigration case making its way through the courts, so they never should have been detained by ICE. Their detention was illegal as it denied their right to due process.

Now for the counselling.

Now for the impeachments.

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 7:37am:

They have an immigration case making its way through the courts, so they never should have been detained by ICE. Their detention was illegal as it denied their right to due process.

trump is a criminal

Sprintcyclist wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 10:29am:

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 7:37am: They have an immigration case making its way through the courts, so they never should have been detained by ICE. Their detention was illegal as it denied their right to due process. trump is a criminal

The Trump administration is a criminal organisation.

They all belong in prison.

Some, one day, will end up there.

Sprintcyclist wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 10:29am:

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 7:37am: They have an immigration case making its way through the courts, so they never should have been detained by ICE. Their detention was illegal as it denied their right to due process. trump is a criminal

As the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem bears ultimate responsibility, as it is her orders that have caused this incident and many others in terms of breaking the law. She needs to be impeached and convicted, removed from her role and then face criminal charges - both state and federal (preferably state, so Trump can't pardon her).

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 11:56am:

Sprintcyclist wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 10:29am: Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 7:37am: They have an immigration case making its way through the courts, so they never should have been detained by ICE. Their detention was illegal as it denied their right to due process. trump is a criminal As the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem bears ultimate responsibility, as it is her orders that have caused this incident and many others in terms of breaking the law. She needs to be impeached and convicted, removed from her role and then face criminal charges - both state and federal (preferably state, so Trump can't pardon her).

https://media.tenor.com/QVDxqANjHjcAAAAM/tim-curry-gomez-addams.gif

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_s0QdyWIAIFx10.jpg

This illegal can now be sent back to where he came from.

All's well that ends well, no?

Melanias purse wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 4:49pm:

This illegal can now be sent back to where he came from. All's well that ends well, no?

He is not illegal. He’s made a claim for asylum that is being considered in the courts. Therefore he is legally in the US until a decision is made and cannot be deported until then, or else it is a deprivation of his right to due process.

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 8:59pm:

Melanias purse wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 4:49pm: This illegal can now be sent back to where he came from. All's well that ends well, no? He is not illegal. He’s made a claim for asylum that is being considered in the courts. Therefore he is legally in the US until a decision is made and cannot be deported until then, or else it is a deprivation of his right to due process.

The kid? How's he gonna write the claim?

Homeland Security won't accept forms in crayon, leftards.

He'll have to hawk his arse in that jail he's in.

DRAIN THE SWAMP !!!

Melanias purse wrote on Feb 1^st, 2026 at 9:29pm:

Armchair_Politician wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 8:59pm: Melanias purse wrote on Feb 1st, 2026 at 4:49pm: This illegal can now be sent back to where he came from. All's well that ends well, no? He is not illegal. He’s made a claim for asylum that is being considered in the courts. Therefore he is legally in the US until a decision is made and cannot be deported until then, or else it is a deprivation of his right to due process. The kid? How's he gonna write the claim? Homeland Security won't accept forms in crayon, leftards. He'll have to hawk his arse in that jail he's in. DRAIN THE SWAMP !!!

Clearly the father makes a claim with the help of an immigration lawyer for both himself and his son. Gawd, you MAGAturds are so stupid!

A five-year-old boy and his father who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota have returned home, a congressman has said.

Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro, a Democrat, announced on Sunday that Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias were released from Dilley detention center in Texas and had travelled back to Minneapolis.

Castro said: "Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack."

Next step?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/G_s0QdyWIAIFx10.jpg