5-year-old taken into custody by ICE has active immigration case, preventing deportation for now

Source: CBS News

Updated on: January 24, 2026 / 9:59 PM EST


The 5-year-old immigrant boy taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement alongside his father in the Minneapolis area earlier this week has an active and pending case in immigration court and cannot be legally deported yet, according to government records reviewed by CBS News.

The ICE operation that led Liam Adrian Conejo Ramos and his father to be taken into government custody, captured on videos and photos that have gone viral, has garnered national attention and raised questions about who exactly the Trump administration is targeting in its mass deportation campaign.

Justice Department records reviewed by CBS News indicate Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Ramos, have immigration court cases listed as "pending." The records by the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review do not list any deportation orders in either case, indicating that an immigration judge still must consider Liam and his father's claims before any deportation attempt. The information says the family's immigration court case was docketed on Dec. 17, 2024.

CBS News was able to review the government information after obtaining the "alien" numbers issued to Liam and his father. Those "A numbers" are issued by the U.S. government to immigrants, illegal and legal alike, to internally track their deportation cases or immigration applications. Liam and his father are now being held at the Dilley detention center in Texas, ICE's long-term holding site for families with underage children, according to officials and the agency's detainee tracking system.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/5-year-old-ice-minneapolis-immigration/