US seeks deportation of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos without retaliation

US Department of Homeland Security Announces Plans to Pursue Deportation of Ecuadorian Asylum Seeker and His Father

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that it will continue to pursue the deportation of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias, following their recent return to Minnesota. According to DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, the family’s case is being handled through regular removal proceedings.

The family’s lawyer, Danielle Molliver, had previously suggested that the Trump administration’s actions were motivated by a desire for “retaliatory” measures. However, DHS has denied this claim, stating that enforcing immigration laws is a standard procedure and not retaliatory in nature.

Conejo Ramos’ case has garnered significant attention nationwide since his initial detention on January 20. The incident involved photos of the child being taken into custody while wearing floppy blue bunny ears and an immigration agent grabbing onto his Spiderman backpack. Officials from Minnesota’s Columbia Heights Public School District have accused immigration officials of using Conejo Ramos as “bait” to apprehend his father.

DHS has maintained that Conejo Ramos’ father abandoned him when approached by immigration authorities, but the family disputes this account. The administration of President Donald Trump has been leading an immigration crackdown in Minnesota known as Operation Metro Surge, which has deployed up to 3,000 agents to the state at its peak.

The operation has been marred by controversy, including reports of heavy-handed tactics and violence against bystanders. Two US citizens were shot dead by immigration agents in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area in the past month alone. In response, the Trump administration announced this week that it is withdrawing nearly 700 immigration agents from the state.

Conejo Ramos and his father were detained as they returned home from preschool and were subsequently transported to Dilley, Texas, for processing. A judge later ruled that the pair should be released while they challenge their expulsion. The family’s legal team has stated that they entered the US legally and are in the midst of asylum proceedings at the time of their detention.

Source: Al Jazeera