1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to demand the immediate release of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias from the immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas. This case represents a profound failure of our immigration enforcement priorities and is causing irreparable harm to a young child. Liam and his father were detained by ICE agents on January 20, 2025, in their driveway in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, as they returned home from preschool. The widely circulated photograph of Liam in his blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack has become a symbol of the human cost of current enforcement practices. When Congressman Joaquin Castro visited them at the Dilley facility on Wednesday, he found Liam sleeping in his father's arms. According to Adrian, Liam "hasn't been himself" and "has been sleeping a lot because he has been depressed and sad." The Department of Homeland Security's justification for this detention does not withstand scrutiny. Their claim that Adrian fled and abandoned his child is contradicted by school officials who witnessed the encounter. These officials state that an adult from the home offered to take Liam, but ICE detained him anyway. Furthermore, the family's attorney has provided documentation showing they entered the US at an official port of entry and have an active asylum case. There is no deportation order against them. A federal judge has already temporarily blocked their deportation while litigation continues, recognizing the legal questions surrounding this case. Detaining a five-year-old child who is experiencing depression and psychological trauma serves no legitimate enforcement purpose. This is not about border security. This is about a kindergartener who should be in school, not in a detention facility 1,200 miles from his Minnesota home. I urge you to use your authority to secure the immediate release of Liam and his father while their asylum case proceeds. They pose no threat and deserve the opportunity to pursue their legal claim to remain in this country.