Did ethiopian father abandon son liam in car
Executive summary
The reporting does not support the premise that an “Ethiopian father” abandoned his son — all sources identify the father as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, an asylum-seeker from Ecuador, not Ethiopia [1]. On the central factual question of whether the father abandoned 5‑year‑old Liam in the car, federal officials say he fled and left the child, while the family, school officials and eyewitnesses dispute that account; available public reporting leaves the matter contested, not conclusively proven either way [2] [3] [4] [5].
1. The identity mismatch: the father is reported as Ecuadorian, not Ethiopian
Every major report identifies the boy’s father as Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and describes the family as asylum seekers from Ecuador — none of the provided reporting describes the father as Ethiopian, so the premise that an “Ethiopian father” abandoned Liam is inaccurate relative to these sources [1] [5] [6].
2. The Department of Homeland Security’s account: officers say the father fled and abandoned the child
DHS and ICE officials publicly stated that agents approached Conejo Arias on Jan. 20, he fled on foot to evade arrest and “abandoned” his child in the vehicle, and that ICE officers remained with Liam while other officers apprehended his father [2] [7] [8]. DHS amplified that version on X and in statements repeating that the child had been left and that agents had tried to coax the mother to take custody [9] [10].
3. The family, attorney and local witnesses dispute that version and say the child was not abandoned
Family members, the father and the family’s lawyer have strongly denied the abandonment allegation; Conejo Arias told ABC News “I love my son too much. I would never abandon him,” and the family’s lawyer and school officials said another adult outside the home begged agents to be allowed to take the child but was refused [2] [3] [6]. The mother said she saw the scene from a window and that her husband begged her not to open the door because he feared she would also be arrested, which helps explain why she did not go outside to take the child when agents asked [4] [11].
4. Eyewitness reporting complicates the picture — some tried to intervene
At least one school board member on the scene, Mary Granlund, said she offered to take Liam and told immigration officials she could care for him, yet officials still detained the child, a detail that contradicts a simple narrative that the father intentionally abandoned the boy [5] [11]. Local pastors and neighbors also reported fear and confusion among family members when officers arrived, which several outlets cited to show the moment was chaotic and disputed [7] [4].
5. Subsequent public evidence and legal outcomes undercut a settled finding of abandonment
Video and photos later published show Liam and his father reunited and boarding a flight home after a federal judge ordered their release from a Texas facility, and media published footage of the father carrying his son — images that do not square with an uncontested finding that the father intentionally abandoned the child [2] [6] [12] [13]. The judge’s order and legal filings also note the family has active immigration proceedings, and the release was ordered pending litigation, not as an adjudication of the abandonment allegation [12] [10].
6. Bottom line: media record shows conflicting accounts, not conclusive proof
Reporting from ABC, CBS, NBC, BBC, The Guardian and others documents two sharply opposed narratives: DHS/ICE officials claiming the father fled and left the child, and the family, school officials and local witnesses denying abandonment and describing attempts to prevent the child’s removal — but none of the provided sources contains incontrovertible, independently verified evidence that the father intentionally abandoned Liam in the car, so the claim remains disputed in the public record [2] [3] [7] [4] [5] [11].