A five-year-old Ecuadorian boy detained with his father after a federal immigration arrest in Minnesota has fallen ill at a South Texas family detention center, intensifying scrutiny of the Trump administration's interior enforcement push and the conditions inside large-scale facilities housing children. The case of Liam Conejo Ramos, a preschool student from Columbia Heights, has become a flashpoint for allegations that children are being used to facilitate arrests and then held in unsafe conditions.
Liam was taken into custody on Jan. 20 alongside his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, during an ICE operation in Minnesota. Immigration court records show the family's asylum case was active at the time and that no deportation order had been issued, a detail that has fueled criticism from local officials and advocates.
School leaders said agents instructed the child to knock on his own front door during the operation, a tactic Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik described as using "a 5-year-old as bait." Officials said neighbors and school staff offered to care for the child to prevent his detention, but agents refused, according to accounts from the scene.
The Department of Homeland Security disputed claims that agents targeted the child. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the father fled on foot, allegedly abandoning his son, and that the child remained with an officer to ensure his safety. DHS has said parents may choose whether to be removed with their children or place them with a person of their choosing in such circumstances.
After the arrest, Liam and his father were transferred more than 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley, one of the nation's largest family detention facilities. Within days, visiting lawmakers and family representatives reported that the child was suffering from fever, lethargy and vomiting, conditions advocates attributed to what they described as "toxic" and "unsanitary" food.
Family attorney Eric Lee, who represents several detainees at Dilley, said conditions inside were "absolutely abysmal." He told Minnesota Public Radio that food had been contaminated and that guards were "often verbally abusive," adding that medical care was delayed even in serious cases.
Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the facility on Jan. 28 and said the child appeared visibly unwell. Their visit followed reports from detainees alleging unsafe food, limited access to clean water and inadequate medical attention, claims that have circulated since the center was reopened in 2025.
The unrest has spilled into public protest inside the facility. Detainees have chanted "Libertad" during demonstrations, according to advocates, highlighting what they say are deteriorating living conditions and prolonged confinement of children.
Legal pressure mounted on Jan. 27 when U.S. District Judge Fred Biery blocked the deportation of Liam and his father, ordering that they remain within the court's jurisdiction while litigation continues. The ruling halted removal but did not require their release from detention.
