MINNEAPOLIS — Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old whose detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) triggered widespread outrage earlier this year, continues to be haunted by the experience, his parents shared in an exclusive interview with CBS News.
It has been over two months since Liam’s tragic passing. The moment that captured national attention—a boy wearing a blue bunny hat and a school bag beside his father in Minnesota—renewed a fervent debate in the United States surrounding immigration enforcement. During their first in-person interview, the family expressed deep concern for the lasting psychological impact Liam endured during his time in ICE custody.
Liam’s father, Adrian Conejo Arias, revealed that his son is now seeing a psychologist regularly for support. “As a parent, I am deeply concerned that he has changed. I worry that the effects of this will linger,” Conejo Arias stated during an interview conducted in Spanish. “I’m afraid that this won’t heal quickly.”
Meanwhile, Liam’s mother, Erica Ramos, noted troubling signs of psychological trauma, such as hypervigilance and social withdrawal. “My son is acting very differently now,” she remarked. Previously a joyful and outgoing child, Liam now seems reluctant to attend classes or play with his peers.
Erica highlighted a particularly distressing incident: “Whenever he sees a police officer, he says, ‘It’s ICE, Mom.'” This statement underscores the depth of Liam’s fears.
After spending two weeks at an ICE detention facility in Texas earlier this year, both Liam and his father were released following a federal court ruling, which criticized the government’s approach to enforcing daily expulsion quotas that caused trauma to children. However, the family is still at risk of further detention and potential deportation.
While the federal government continues to pursue deportation, they recently closed the family’s asylum case, despite a court order that facilitated Liam and his father’s release from ICE custody. The Department of Homeland Security maintains that the family received “full due process” and has urged families to leave voluntarily.
When Liam was asked about his greatest fear, he simply stated, “la inmigración,” reflecting the pervasive anxiety many families face when dealing with immigration authorities.
Concerns Over Inequity
The January 20 ICE operation, which led to the detention of Liam and his father, drew international attention, coinciding with intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration strategies in the Minneapolis area. Following high-profile incidents involving U.S. citizens, ICE’s Operation Metro Surge faced bipartisan criticism, prompting a reduction in such enforcement activities.
ICE officials claimed the operation aimed to apprehend Liam’s father, who was accused of unlawful presence in the United States. However, the family contended that they had entered the country in 2023 under a sanctioned asylum-seeker program, which was abruptly terminated shortly after the Biden administration’s transition.
ICE further alleged that Conejo Arias attempted to evade arrest, leaving Liam behind in the process. During the interview, Conejo Arias refuted these accusations, adamantly stating, “What people are saying is not true. I never intended to leave Liam.”
Ramos, Liam’s mother, expressed her reluctance to open the door to ICE agents, fearing her own detention and the well-being of her older son, Tadeo, who was still in school at the time. She suspected ICE was using Liam as leverage against Conejo Arias.
After their apprehension, Liam and his father were transferred to the Dilley Family Detention Center in Texas, where they were placed among other families. Conejo Arias described the conditions there as “horrifying,” citing inadequate medical care and poor food quality that resulted in illness among detainees.
Describing her anguish during their time in custody, Ramos said, “The hardest part was feeling powerless. I was desperate to bring them home and didn’t fully understand why they were taken.” Although she is relieved to have her family back in Minnesota, Ramos, who is expecting another child, noted that their lives have been irrevocably altered. She yearns for peace and the ability for her family to live and work in the U.S. without the threat of deportation.
With the family’s attorney, Daniel Moliver, warning of a potential deportation if their asylum appeal is unsuccessful, Ramos is left grappling with uncertainty. The specter of another ICE detention looms large, placing immense stress on the family as they struggle to comprehend the rationale behind their immigration targeting.
“It feels profoundly unjust,” Conejo Arias stated, reflecting the sentiment of many affected families navigating the complexities of immigration enforcement in the United States.
