Liam ramos

1. The incident: a preschool pick‑up turned federal arrest

Multiple outlets report that Liam and his father, identified by DHS as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were detained in their driveway shortly after the father picked the boy up from preschool in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, on Jan. 20, 2026, and that photos of Liam—wearing a Spider‑Man backpack and a blue bunny hat—became a focal image of public outrage ^{[1] [4] [5]}.

2. Conflicting accounts over whether the child was “abandoned” or offered care

The Department of Homeland Security has said agents took custody of Liam after alleging his father fled or tried to evade officers and that children may be held for their safety or placed with a designated caregiver; local school and neighborhood witnesses, however, say adults on scene begged ICE to let the child enter the house or be released to school officials, contradicting DHS’s characterization and raising questions about tactics used during the arrest ^{[6] [4] [7]}.

3. Legal status and immediate judicial relief

Justice Department immigration records reviewed by CBS show that both Liam and his father have pending immigration court cases and that no final deportation orders appear in those records, meaning an immigration judge still must adjudicate their claims; a federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked ICE from deporting or transferring the pair while litigation over their detention proceeds ^{[3] [2] [6]}.

4. Detention practices and the broader policy context

The transfer of Liam and his father to the Dilley family detention facility in Texas is consistent with ICE’s practice of holding families in long‑term centers, and the case has reignited scrutiny of the Biden administration’s expanded inland family detentions after 2024–25 surges removed the practical border‑only constraint on child detention—data compiled by outside researchers indicates thousands of children were detained with parents in 2025, highlighting that Liam’s case sits within a larger policy shift ^{[3] [8]}.

5. Public reaction, legal advocacy and narrative framing

School officials, local politicians and immigrant advocates framed the arrest as evidence of aggressive tactics and even accused agents of “using [the child] as bait” when they say the boy was asked to knock on his own door to see if others were home; conservative officials and DHS have emphasized law enforcement prerogatives and the agency’s claim that the child was taken for safety when the parent fled, producing sharply polarized public narratives amplified by national and international outlets ^{[7] [9] [6]}.

6. What reporting does — and does not — yet confirm

The contemporaneous record confirms the who, where and immediate legal posture: Liam is a five‑year‑old Columbia Heights preschooler detained with his father; both have pending immigration cases; they were moved to the Dilley center and a judge temporarily barred removal or transfer ^{[4] [3] [2]}. Reporting does not yet produce a definitive, independently verified timeline of whether the father fled before agents seized Liam or whether any alternative caregiver was lawfully offered and refused by ICE; those factual disputes remain central to pending litigation and to competing institutional narratives ^{[6] [4]}.

7. Stakes and agendas behind the headlines

Advocates and local officials use Liam’s image to argue against inland family detention and to galvanize legal and political pressure, while DHS and supporters stress operational necessity and enforcement prerogatives—each side’s emphasis serves different agendas: public sympathy and restraint on enforcement versus deterrence and fidelity to immigration law—so readers should view competing claims in light of the pending court record and the administrative documents that have yet to be fully disclosed ^{[9] [6] [8]}.