Positive update given on 5-year-old boy who was detained by ICE after school

A positive update has been shared on Liam Conejo Ramos - the five-year-old boy who was detained by ICE earlier this month as he returned home from school.

A photo of Ramos went viral last month after it was reported that he had been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement outside his home in Minnesota.

According to widespread news reports, Ramos was making his way up his driveway when a group of ICE agents approached him and attempted to detain his dad, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias.

Superintendent of Liam's school district, Zena Stenvik, told press that the father and son had been transported to South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, having been accused of living in the States illegally.

Three other children were allegedly also detained from the same school district in Columbia Heights within the weeks prior, it was said in a press conference on Wednesday, 21 January.

Stenvik accused the ICE agents of 'essentially using a five-year-old as bait', 'in order to see if anyone else was home'.

Five-year-old Liam Ramos is officially home (X/JoaquinCastrotx)

Following the worldwide backlash, the US' Department of Homeland Security later claimed in a statement that ICE 'did not target a child', and instead insisted that Liam had been 'abandoned' by his father - an alleged 'illegal alien from Ecuador'.

But Marc Prokosch, the Ramos family's attorney, hit back at DHS' accusations and claimed that Liam and his father have an active asylum case, as well as shared paperwork confirming that they entered America through a port of entry, which is the only official way to enter.

He said: "The family did everything they were supposed to in accordance with how the rules have been set out. They did not come here illegally. They are not criminals."

Following this, a sad update came from Stenvik, who told the Huffington Post that since being detained, Liam had been taken ill, adding that he was 'very concerned about his well-being in that facility'.

Meanwhile, Liam's mum told Minnesota Public Radio that the whole 'situation' was 'deeply concerning'.

But now, thankfully, a positive piece of news has come in from Democrat Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro.

Castro shared the letter he wrote to the little one (@‌JoaquinCastrotx/X)

The politician confirmed yesterday (1 February) that both Liam and his dad were both safely home, after US District Judge Fred Biery granted an emergency request from the family's lawyer and ordered their release on Saturday (31 January).

He penned on Twitter: "Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning.

"Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won’t stop until all children and families are home."

He also shared a series of photos of little Liam back home with his dad, as well as a handwritten letter Castro had written for the child to read.

The letter emotionally outlined that 'no child should have to go through what he endured' and urged: "Don't let anyone tell you this isn't your home."

As reported by the BBC, judge Biery called the duos detention as being driven by a 'perfidious lust for unbridled power'.

He said: "The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatising children."