In a deeply moving first in-person interview since their ordeal went viral, the parents of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos have revealed that their son lives in constant fear of being detained again by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The young boy, famously pictured in his bunny hat and Spiderman backpack during the incident, remains psychologically scarred.
The January Detention That Changed Everything
Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, were apprehended by federal immigration officers in January as they returned home from the child's preschool. Following their detention, they spent nearly two weeks confined in a Texas detention centre before a federal judge ordered their release, allowing them to return to their home in Minneapolis.
A Childhood Shadowed by Fear
"My boy is very different," Liam's mother, Erika Ramos, told CBS News in the newly released interview. She described how her son now associates any law enforcement with the traumatic event. "He sees police officers, and he says, 'It's ICE, Mommy.'"
When asked what frightens him most, the five-year-old simply responds with "la inmigración," the Spanish term for federal immigration officers. The family confirms that Liam now attends regular sessions with a psychologist to help process the trauma.
Parental Concerns for Long-Term Healing
Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias expressed profound worry about his son's psychological recovery. "As parents, it worries us a lot that he's no longer as he was before," he said. "We're worried this could last a long time."
Contested Accounts of the Arrest
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) previously stated that it conducted a "targeted operation" to arrest Liam's father on January 20th. The agency claimed that Conejo Arias fled during the operation, abandoning his child, and that an ICE officer remained with Liam "for the child's safety."
Conejo Arias vehemently denies this version of events, telling CBS News he "never did and never would" abandon his son. DHS has also characterised Liam's father as an "illegal alien" from Ecuador who was released into the United States under the Biden administration. However, the family maintains they have been actively seeking asylum.
Legal Battles Over Asylum
The family's legal representative, attorney Danielle Molliver, informed ABC News last month that an immigration judge granted a motion filed by the federal government to terminate the family's asylum claim. Molliver has since filed an appeal in the case, continuing the legal struggle.
Broader Context of Immigration Enforcement
The detention of Liam and his father occurred during a significant wave of immigration enforcement activities in Minnesota. This enforcement push has since been scaled back by the Trump administration following a tragic incident in Minneapolis where two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal immigration agents.
The Independent has reached out to both the Department of Homeland Security and ICE for comment on this case, but responses were not immediately available. The story of the young boy in the bunny hat continues to highlight the human cost of immigration policies and their impact on the most vulnerable.
