‘My Boy Is Different’: Parents of 5-Year-Old Detained by ICE Share Emotional Update

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos became a popular face on the internet the minute ICE detained him. Back in January, the little one was seized by ICE officers in Minneapolis on his way back home from school. The group of agents were supposedly there to apprehend the boy’s father, but ended up detaining him as bait.

​The shocking incident became viral all over social media. A particular picture of Liam wearing a blue-colored bunny cap and Spider Man backpack was highly circulated. It prompted heavy scrutiny of the DHS, as people demanded answers for targeting a child.

Months after the incident, the little boy’s parents have opened up about their son’s trauma in a recent interview. Speaking with CBS News, Liam’s father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, said his son was now receiving treatment from a psychologist.

​His mother, Erika Ramos, added that Liam was showing signs of trauma post the incident, including hypervigilance and isolation. She revealed that even now, whenever Liam sees police officers, he immediately identifies them as ICE agents.

​Adrian said, “As parents, it worries us a lot that he's no longer as he was before, and we're worried this could last a long time. It does worry us that this will not heal quickly.”

​Back in January, the DHS defended claims that they used the child as bait to capture his father, who was apparently an illegal immigrant. They even argued that the child was abandoned by his parents. Both Liam and Adrian had been held in custody at a detention center for 10 days before a district judge granted them an emergency request.

​Adrian’s wife, Erika, in the new interview, remembered the tough time she had endured when her husband and son got wrongly detained. In her words, “The most difficult thing was that I couldn't do anything. My desperation was to go and get them out, because I really did not understand why."

​Erika Ramos further revealed that it was their son Liam who bore the brunt of the entire ordeal. She revealed how the five-year-old refuses to attend certain classes in school and has been more prone to bad behavior with his friends.

​Meanwhile, Adrian Ramos yet again dismissed claims that he had abandoned their son as a means to escape the clutches of ICE capture. He added, “It's not true what people are saying. I never did and never would."

The CBS News report has further revealed that the family is still not fully out of danger from ICE. The U.S. federal government has allegedly continued their attempts to deport the Conejo family from America. They have even terminated the asylum case, which Adrian sought with help from his attorneys.

​Moreover, the government has also tried to appeal the very federal court order which allowed the release of Liam and his father from ICE detention. Another previous report by The Independent, a month back, alleged that the Conejo family was being deported to Ecuador. Whether true or just a hoax was never confirmed by official sources close to the family.