Asylum claim denied for 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his family, says lawyer

An immigration judge has denied the asylum claims of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his family, according to the family’s lawyer.

Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is originally from Ecuador, were detained in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights on Jan. 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas, and held there for 10 days before a judge ordered them to be released on Jan. 31.

Lawyer Danielle Molliver, with Nwokocha & Operana Law Offices, told Minnesota Public Radio on Wednesday that the firm is appealing a decision handed down by U.S. Immigration Judge John Burns and noted that the appeal could take months or years to move through the courts.

2:31 Democracy ‘has fallen’ in U.S.: Anti-ICE protests erupt in Texas following release of Liam Ramos

If the family loses the appeal, they are expected to be deported to Ecuador, Molliver said.

“We’re just gravely disappointed in the judge’s misguided decision,” Molliver said. “We’re committed to the family and we’ll fight the appeal, obviously, the best that we can.”

Get daily National news

Get daily Canada news delivered to your inbox so you'll never miss the day's top stories.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Get Started

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Molliver said Liam is back in his suburban Minneapolis school, but that he and his father were badly shaken by their time in detention.

“They’re scared” now about what could happen, she said.

Last month, the federal government moved to end the family’s asylum case without holding a hearing on the merits of their petition, the New York Times reports.

Paschal Nwokocha, one of the family’s lawyers, told the Times that the government should give Liam and his family “the chance to plead their case for asylum instead of trying to swiftly deport them.”

“Considering all this family has gone through, the trauma and public reaction, it’s unbelievable that the government is continuing to traumatize them,” Nwokocha said. “The family remains in shock as to why the government is in a haste to deport them without giving them their day in court.”

The arrests and national coverage unfolded during a surge of thousands of immigration officers across the Minneapolis area, leading to daily protests and the shooting deaths of two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal officers.

1:51 U.S. DOJ launches criminal investigation of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor 

• U.S. DOJ launches criminal investigation of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor 
• Minneapolis ICE shooting: DHS Noem doubles down on defence of officer who killed Renee Good
• ICE shooting: Anger boils over with nationwide protests in US after killing of Renee Good
• Minneapolis shooting: State and local officials shut out of federal probe

Previous Video

Next Video

Neighbours and school officials have accused federal immigration officers of using Liam as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would come outside.

The Department of Homeland Security has called that description of events an “abject lie.” Officials have said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a vehicle in their driveway. He has denied that.

Liam was photographed in a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack as he was detained with his father during the immigration crackdown that shook Minneapolis.

View image in full screen

The government said the boy’s father entered the U.S. illegally in December 2024. The family’s lawyer, however, says he entered legally, requesting asylum, and that his asylum claim allows him to stay in the U.S.

— With files from The Associated Press