1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you to intervene in the case of Liam Conejo Ramos, a five-year-old Minneapolis boy, and his father Adrian Conejo Arias, who are facing expedited deportation despite following proper asylum procedures. The Department of Homeland Security filed a motion this week to dismiss their asylum claims and accelerate their removal, just days after District Judge Fred Biery ordered their release from ICE custody. This family entered the United States legally and applied for asylum upon arrival in 2024, exactly as the law requires. They are not criminals. They have complied with every legal requirement. Yet on January 20, 2025, federal officers detained them from their Minneapolis home driveway and transported them to a detention center in Texas. Their asylum hearing, originally scheduled for later this month, was suddenly moved to Friday morning in what immigration attorney Danielle Molliver with Nwokocha & Operana Law Offices called a "retaliatory" action that is "not very common." Judge Biery's three-page order granting their release condemned what he described as Trump's "ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas" that appears to require "traumatizing children." Since returning to Minneapolis, Liam has experienced nightmares and frequently wakes up crying. His father told Telemundo that Liam repeatedly asked what they had done wrong. "He hasn't been the same since this all happened," Conejo Arias said. Liam is one of at least seven children from the Columbia Heights School District currently in ICE custody. The district stated that when children like Liam experience this turmoil, their sense of safety and ability to learn is shaken with real and immediate effects on their well-being. Children deserve to be in school learning and growing, not living in fear of separation. I urge you to publicly oppose this expedited deportation and advocate for Liam and his father to remain in the United States while their asylum case proceeds through proper legal channels. They followed the rules and deserve their day in court.