Photo: Getty Images
Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, returned back to Minneapolis on Sunday (February 1) after being released from a detention facility in adherence with a judge's ruling.
Conejo Arias and his son, asylum seekers from Ecuador, were detained by federal agents last week and sent to a Texas facility prior U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordering that they be released "as soon as practicable" but no later than February 3 on Saturday (January 31).
"I'm happy to finally be going home," Conejo Arias told ABC News' John Quiñones during an exclusive interview as they flew from San Antonio to Minneapolis.
"Liam is very happy to be going back," he added. "He's going to see his mom and his brother again."
Liam responded, "Good," in Spanish when asked how he was feeling during the flight back. Video footage shared by ABC News showed Conejo Arias carrying his son as they boarded the plane. Rep. Joaquin Castron (D-Texas), who had previously shared images of the child following his visit to the detention enter, was also present on the flight Sunday.
Liam was detained by immigration agents in the driveway of the family's home on January 20, which Conejo Arias told ABC News occurred after he picked his son up from preschool.
"When we got home, we parked the car and were about to get out. That’s when several agents emerged [from their vehicles] and detained us," Conejo Arias said.
The pair had a pending asylum case but no order of deportation to be removed from the United States at the time of their detainment, ABC News had previously reported prior to the flight home on Sunday. Judge Biery said 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" in the order for the father and son's release.
"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," the judge wrote via ABC News. "And the rule of law be damned."
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin issued a statement claiming "The facts in this case have NOT changed: ICE did NOT target or arrest a child" in response to the judge's ruling.
"On January 20, ICE conducted a targeted operation to arrest Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias an illegal alien from Ecuador who was RELEASED into the U.S. by the Biden administration," McLaughlin said via ABC News. "As agents approached, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias fled on foot -- abandoning his child."
McLaughlin said ICE officers were with the child as their colleagues attempted to detain his father and attempted to place Liam with his "alleged mother," who was inside the house, but she allegedly refused to accept custody and claimed Conejo Arias requested his son stay with him. Conejo Arias, his attorney and schools officials claimed otherwise, as he said he was trying to alert nearby people who "would come out who could help" them at the time of his detainment.
"I love my son too much. I would never abandon him," Conejo Arias said via ABC News.