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5d ago

Judge Halts Deportation and Transfer of 5-Year-Old and Father as Protests Erupt in Texas

Protests outside the Dilley facility underscore unresolved disputes over how the child was detained.

Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, is detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after arriving home from preschool, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in a Minneapolis suburb. (Ali Daniels via AP)
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Protesters are pushed back as they gather outside the South Texas Family Residential Center detention facility where Liam Ramos and his father are being detained in Dilley, Texas, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Overview

  • U.S. District Judge Fred Biery issued a stay blocking any removal of Liam Conejo Ramos and his father and barred their transfer outside the Western District of Texas while their case proceeds.
  • The pair were taken into ICE custody on Jan. 20 in the Minneapolis area and are being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley.
  • Local school officials and witnesses allege agents directed the child to knock on his home’s door, a claim DHS rejects while asserting the father fled and left the boy in a running vehicle.
  • The family’s attorney says they entered through a CBP One port-of-entry appointment and have a pending asylum case, while DHS says the father entered illegally in December 2024.
  • Demonstrators clashed with law enforcement outside the Dilley facility, Rep. Joaquin Castro visited the detainees, and Columbia Heights officials report other recent child detentions tied to ICE operations.