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Democratic US Reps. Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited a five-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father in a Texas federal prison on Wednesday. The boy was arrested by federal agents in Minneapolis..
The case has added to anger over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and provided fuel to Democrats and others pushing back against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) measures.
Castro said the lawmakers met with Lim Conejo Ramos and their father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, for about 30 minutes in a courtroom at the South Texas Family Housing Center in Dilley, near San Antonio.
Outside the facility, Texas State Police officers clashed with people who had rallied in support of the inmates inside.
A photo of the boy wearing a blue winter hat and Spider-Man backpack while in prison has been widely circulated and has sparked strong reactions. Castro described the boy as “an example of the monstrosity of the ICE system and the detention system.”
“He wants to go back to school.”
According to Castro, Liam’s father said his son slept a lot, asked his mother and classmates and said he wanted to go back to school.
“I ask President Trump, who has grandchildren himself, to think about what it would be like for his grandchildren to be behind bars the age of some of the children we have today,” Castro said at a press conference early Wednesday, as he and other Democrats called for the release of Liam and other prisoners.
The meeting is part of Democrats’ midterm election efforts to wrest control of Congress and highlight the consequences of Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minnesota and elsewhere.
ICE agents arrested Liam and his father on Jan. 20 in Minneapolis as part of a massive operation that swept the city and sparked protests from residents. During the same operation, two American citizens were shot and killed by federal officers.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance is awaiting action by ICE officers after they detained five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, sparking renewed anger over the tactics of immigration officials.
Neighbors and school officials used the preschooler as “bait” for federal immigration officers, saying they would knock on the door to get his mother to answer.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) called that account of events “a blatant lie.” The father reportedly fled on foot, leaving the child in their car in a running car.
Federal officials said the father had entered the United States illegally, without providing details.
A federal judge on Monday Temporary issue The Trump administration’s order barring Ramos and Arias from removing them from the United States is challenging their jail terms.
The family’s lawyer said Arias has an asylum claim that would allow him to stay in the country. The online court summary states that the case was filed on December 17, 2024 and has been assigned to the Immigration Court at the Dilley Detention Center.
After the visit, Castro posted footage of the meeting on social media. In it, Liam is seen with his eyes closed in his father’s arms.
He just visited with Lim and his father at the Dili Detention Center. I asked him for release and told him how much his family, school and country loved him and were praying for him. pic.twitter.com/9a2pCuapYd
“I asked for his release and told him how much his family, school and country love him and are praying for him,” Castro wrote on social media.
“Children are not criminals.”
Crockett, a Texas Democrat who is seeking her party’s Senate nomination, said Wednesday that Liam was one of several children the lawmakers met at the facility, who told them the children were not attending school.
“We’re going to be better than this,” she said.
Outside the prison on Wednesday, Texas State Police deployed chemical provocations against protesters who had gathered to support inmates at the facility. Some in the group were beating drums, chanting and chanting “Children are not criminals!” They were carrying signs with the phrases:
As protesters approached the facility, Texas State Police officers arrived at the school bus and shouted instructions for the crowd to get back. Some officers deployed pepper balls to disperse the crowd.
The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a statement that protesters used pepper balls and arrested two people after disobeying orders to disperse.
Castro, a prominent member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accused Homeland Security Secretary Kristy Noem of calling the “lawless” immigration enforcement operation a “bounty hunting organization” in a recently released video.
Like Castro, Crockett and his Senate Democratic primary rival, state Rep. James Tallarico, are among the Democrats calling for Noem’s impeachment. Crockett also voted against a pending appropriations bill that would support the Department of Homeland Security and immigration enforcement agencies under it.
Days before 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretty was shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, the Republican-controlled House passed the DHS funding bill with the help of a handful of Democrats.
Several Senate Democrats have said they will not accept DHS funding after Pritty’s death, even if it means a partial government shutdown beginning this weekend.