A federal judge ordered the release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos and his father from a detention facility in Texas, after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers took them into custody in Minneapolis last week.
In a brief order issued Saturday, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery excoriated the federal government, saying the case “has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”
Biery quoted the Declaration of Independence, pointing to Thomas Jefferson’s “grievances against a would-be authoritarian king over our nascent nation.”
“‘We the people’ are hearing echos of that history,” he wrote.
Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were detained by ICE officers on Jan. 20 outside their home in Minneapolis. Officials at Liam’s school district said that the 5-year-old was used as “bait” to lure family members out of his home. District officials said another adult in the home “begged the agents to let him take care of the small child and was refused,” and ICE then took both father and son into custody.
The Department of Homeland Security disputed that account, saying Conejo Arias “fled on foot” when approached by ICE officers and accused him of abandoning Liam.
A photo of Liam wearing a bunny hat and carrying a Spider-Man backpack as he was being detained went viral, sparking national criticism.
The father and son were subsequently taken to a detention center in Dilley, Texas.
Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, who visited the detention center earlier this week, said Conejo Arias told him that Liam “hasn’t been himself” and that the boy has been sleeping a lot “because he’s been depressed and sad.”
Marc Prokosch, a lawyer representing the family, said in a statement that their legal team is grateful for the swift court decision and that they are working “to ensure a safe and timely reunion” for the family.
“We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal,” Prokosch said.
Biery, a Clinton appointee, had fierce criticism for the government’s conduct.
“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. And the rule of law be damned,” he wrote.
Biery signed off on the order, attaching the viral photo of Liam and referring to two Bible verses. The first was Matthew 19:14, “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’” The other was John 11:35 — “Jesus wept.”
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.