The mother of one A 5-year-old boy who was taken with her father in Minnesota last week described her anguish as she watched from a window as immigration agents took away her child and partner.
Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrián Alexander Conejo Arias, were returning from Liam’s preschool on Jan. 20 when they were confronted by immigration agents, according to Columbia Heights Public Schools Superintendent Zena Stenvik. A school board member who witnessed the father’s arrest said last week that she heard an adult inside the home pleading with officers to leave the child.
Erika Ramos, Liam’s mother, told Telemundo in Spanish that she “witnessed the scene from the window and could do nothing. Adrián begged me several times not to go out because he was afraid they would arrest me too.”
Ramos said immigration officers noticed her, took Liam out of their car and brought him to the front door for her to open.
“They knocked and knocked, and my son Liam kept saying, ‘Mom, open the door.’ I was terrified,” she said, sobbing.
She said she didn’t open the door for fear of being arrested and her other child being left alone.
“When I didn’t open the door, they took Liam into the ICE van. The whole thing seemed like an attempt to free me, to provoke me, like they wanted me to desperately run for my son so they could arrest me too,” she told Telemundo.
“They used my boy as bait. Despite this, my husband desperately insisted that I not go out, especially because we have another child and I am pregnant,” she said. “His only intention was to protect us, like any responsible husband and father. »
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Friday that the child’s father fled from approaching officers in his car, leaving Liam behind.
“For the safety of the child, one of our ICE agents remained with the child while the other agents apprehended Conejo Arias,” DHS said.
Ramos denied the DHS allegations, saying, “I repeat, at no time did my husband do what they say, abandon my son. No, at no time did he do that.”
The agency said Liam’s mother refused police attempts to get her to take custody of the boy. His father agreed to keep Liam in his custody, DHS said.
Liam and his father were both transferred from Minnesota to Texas, and the removal order says they are at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center.
Ramos said she was worried about her son’s health. She said she spoke with her husband and he told her Liam was sick.
“He says he has a fever, that he has a stomach ache, that he has diarrhea,” she said, her voice breaking.
She also said her husband told her that he and Liam were not receiving medication.
On Thursday, the Trump administration said a pediatrician examined Liam “and found no medical problems.”
“It is standard policy to provide medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” Dr. Sean Conley, acting director of the Office of Health Security, DHS’s public health authority, said in a statement. shared on X by DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
“This includes a medical, dental and mental health examination within 12 hours of arrival at each detention center, a comprehensive health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arriving at a facility, and access to necessary medical appointments and emergency care 24 hours a day,” Conley said in the release.
Ramos said neither she nor her husband had a criminal record and that both entered the country legally under the Biden administration’s CBP One program, which was later rescinded by the Trump administration.
Ramos said she would ask authorities “to give them back to me,” referring to her husband and son.
“Please release them,” she said.
Tuesday, a federal judge issued a temporary ban order preventing the Trump administration from removing Liam from the country.
Democratic Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas said he visited Liam and his father at the detention center on Wednesday.
“I asked for his release and told him how much his family, his school and our country loved him and prayed for him,” he said on social media.
Tuesday’s order prevents them from being deported or transferred outside the Western District of Texas pending a further court directive.
The case drew attention from critics who accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of using children as “bait.”
The agency defended its actions.
“Our agents made multiple attempts to get the alleged mother who was inside the home to take custody of her child,” the agency said. “The police even assured her that she would NOT be taken into custody. The alleged mother refused to accept custody of the child.”
Daniella Silva is a national reporter for NBC News, specializing in immigration and education.