A judge has ended the asylum claims of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, whose detention became a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota, and his family, and ordered them deported, according to their attorneys and two lawmakers who oppose the decision.
An immigration court judge handed down the decision on Wednesday, March 18, one of the family’s attorneys Danielle Molliver told Minnesota Public Radio, which was first to report the development.
The attorneys have asked the Board of Immigration Appeals, a branch of the Justice Department, to send the case back to the immigration court to hear the family’s asylum claim, according to The New York Times. Molliver said an appeal could take months or years and if the family loses the appeal, they could be deported to Ecuador, where they are from. The attorneys did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s requests for comment on Thursday, March 19.
Paschal Nwokocha, whose firm is representing the family, said the government should give Liam, his older brother and his parents Adrian Conejo Arias and Erika Ramos, who is pregnant, the opportunity to plead their case for asylum. He criticized the government for trying to expedite their deportation.
“Considering all this family has gone through, the trauma and public reaction, it’s unbelievable that the government is continuing to traumatize them,” Nwokocha told the Times.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment but has claimed Liam’s father entered the country illegally in December 2024. The family’s attorneys have said they did not commit any crimes and entered the country legally as asylum seekers at a border crossing in Brownsville, Texas, in 2024.
Liam and his father were detained on Jan. 20 in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during a sweep in the city as they returned home from preschool. They were flown to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, and remained there for nearly two weeks before a federal judge ordered they be released.
Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who has been a vocal supporter of Liam and his family and picked them up from the Texas detention center on Jan. 31, decried the judge’s decision, saying Liam and his family “never even got the chance to make their case before a judge.”
“It is wrong, cruel and cannot stand,” Castro said on X, adding that he and his office are in touch with the family and their representatives, who plan to appeal the decision. “We will keep fighting.”
Liam Ramos and his father have been denied asylum. They never even got the chance to make their case before a judge. It is wrong, cruel and cannot stand. My office and I are in touch with the family and their representatives who will appeal this decision. We will keep fighting. https://t.co/Rj3AsC2DV6
— Joaquin Castro (@JoaquinCastrotx) March 19, 2026
Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Democrat who represents Minnesota and met with Liam and his father when they returned to the state from Texas, called the judge’s decision “beyond cruel and indefensible.”
“This decision must be overturned,” she said in a statement on X on Wednesday evening.
Outrageous.
Stripping Liam Conejo Ramos and his family of asylum is beyond cruel and indefensible.
This decision must be overturned. Shame.https://t.co/8JVCMAeBCW
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 19, 2026
Images of Liam wearing a blue bunny hat and surrounded by ICE officers sparked outcry about the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement. Liam and Arias’ detention led to a protest at the Texas family detention center and spurred a visit from Texas lawmakers, including Castro and Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett.
Liam and his 13-year-old brother have not returned to school since their release, officials from their school district have told PEOPLE.
In a statement, a spokesperson for their school district, Columbia Heights Public Schools, called the announcement “heartbreaking.” Several students from the district and dozens of parents have been detained amid the immigration crackdown.
“We understand that this decision will be appealed and remain hopeful for a positive outcome,” the school district said, in part. “Our thoughts are with Liam and his family, and we will continue to advocate for and support Liam and all children.”