A federal judge has strongly criticized the Trump administration while signing a crucial document related to the detention of a five-year-old boy who reportedly became ill while in custody.
There has been significant unrest in Minneapolis following a sweep by ICE agents through the Minnesota city where reports indicate that four children were detained.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have faced widespread protests across the country, especially after incidents involving the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by ICE agent Jonathan Ross and the subsequent killing of Alex Pretti weeks later. On January 20, five-year-old preschooler Liam Ramos was detained by ICE officials, exacerbating national discontent with the government’s actions.
According to Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of Liam’s school, Liam was taken into custody alongside his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, as they returned home.
Liam is among four children from a Columbia Heights school district reportedly detained by agents.
Public outrage intensified after an image of Liam being placed into a vehicle wearing a Spiderman backpack and blue cap circulated online and across media outlets. The situation worsened when reports emerged that he fell ill in a Texas detention center and has been asking for his mother.
A federal judge has now mandated the release of Liam and his father following a ruling on January 31.
District Judge Fred Biery harshly criticized President Donald Trump’s administration, describing it as an ‘ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas’ that involves ‘traumatizing children.’
The judge lectured the government regarding their disregard for an ‘American historical document called the Declaration of Independence.’
Judge Biery further quoted former POTUS Thomas Jefferson, cautioning against ‘a would-be authoritarian king over our nascent nation’ and referenced the Fourth Amendment, asserting that ‘administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster.’
“That is called the fox guarding the henhouse,” he elaborated. “The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer.”
This ruling effectively safeguarded the boy, overriding the government’s detention, the judge explained.
“Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency,” he stated. “And the rule of law be damned.”
In the three-page order, the judge included the widely shared image of Liam and two Bible verses: Matthew 19:14 and John 11:35.
The verse from Matthew reads, according to Bible Gateway: “Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’”, and the John passage states: “Jesus wept.”
The order specifies that Liam and his father must be released by February 3, following prior attempts to block their relocation.