{"id":137095,"date":"2026-01-25T01:50:20","date_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:50:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/137095\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T01:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-25T01:50:20","slug":"u-s-rep-joaquin-castro-says-5-year-old-arrested-by-ice-could-be-in-san-antonio-detention-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/137095\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro says 5-year-old arrested by ICE could be in San Antonio detention facility"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Federal immigration agents walk 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos to a vehicle in front of his Minneapolis home on Tuesday. Credit: Courtesy \/ Columbia Heights Public Schools<\/p>\n

A 5-year-old boy arrested this week by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minneapolis could be held in a San Antonio-area detention facility, Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro said Thursday afternoon in a social media post. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know that he\u2019s there, but we suspect that they\u2019re sending him there,\u201d Castro, whose district includes San Antonio, said in a video clip on his Instagram account. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so this morning my staff and I have been trying to figure out his whereabouts, make sure he\u2019s safe, and also to demand his release by ICE.\u201d<\/p>\n

An image of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos went viral after eyewitnesses said ICE used the child \u201cas bait,\u201d having him knock on the door of his house to lure his parents out. The boy\u2019s father reportedly ended up joining him in agents\u2019 custody so his son wouldn\u2019t be detained alone.<\/p>\n

After pulling the child from a running car, an agent \u201cled him to the door and directed him to knock on the door, asking to be let in, in order to see if anyone else was home \u2014 essentially using a 5-year-old as bait,\u201d Zena Stenvik, superintendent of the school district in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights, told CNN<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cAccording to a source familiar with Tuesday\u2019s situation, the father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, and his young son are being held at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, an ICE facility for families,\u201d CNN further reports. <\/p>\n

The Dilley detention facility is located roughly an hour southwest of the Alamo City. <\/p>\n

Castro, who serves on leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said he tried to reach out to ICE about the boy but got no response.<\/p>\n

\u201cICE and the other agencies under Donald Trump have gotten super secretive,\u201d the congressman added in his video. \u201cThis is the least transparent that an administration has been in generations at least.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, ICE did respond to public outcry over reports that its agents used the 5-year-old to lure out his parents. <\/p>\n

\u201cICE did not, and has never, \u2018used a child as bait.\u2019 The child was ABANDONED,\u201d the agency\u00a0tweeted Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In a statement to CNN, DHS said ICE was conducting an operation to arrest the child\u2019s father when he \u201cfled on foot \u2014 abandoning his child.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security said the father, who\u2019s from Ecuador, was the intended target of the operation.<\/p>\n

The Ramos family presented itself to border officers in Texas in December 2024 to apply for asylum, their attorney, Mark Prokosch, said at a news conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have done every single thing the right way that they were supposed to \u2026\u201d Prokosch told reporters. \u201cThe family is pursuing an asylum claim, which is lawful to do. It\u2019s just that now we have to do it with half of the family in Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Castro also said he submitted a request Wednesday to tour the Dilley facility before news broke of Ramos\u2019 arrest and detention. However, members of congress who request an ICE detention site tour have to wait seven days for a visit, the congressman added. <\/p>\n

That means Castro won\u2019t be able to enter the facility until next Wednesday, he explained.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the congressman added that he\u2019s in communication with the Ramos family\u2019s lawyers and family members.<\/p>\n

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