The father and son were taken into custody by immigration authorities on Jan. 20<\/a>, as the child was on his way home from preschool. The pair have since been detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.<\/p>\n The case drew widespread outrage after an image of Ramos \u2014 wearing a blue hat and a backpack as he was being taken into custody by immigration authorities \u2014 went viral online.<\/p>\n \u201cObserving human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency,\u201d Biery wrote in his order, referring to the boy\u2019s detention. \u201cAnd the rule of law be damned.\u201d<\/p>\n Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return a request for comment.<\/p>\n The legal team representing Liam and his father said in a statement that they were grateful for the court’s swift decision. <\/p>\n “We are now working closely with our clients and their family to ensure a safe and timely reunion,” they said. “We are pleased that the family will now be able to focus on being together and finding some peace after this traumatic ordeal.”<\/p>\n Liam and his father were confronted by immigration authorities outside of their home as they were returning from the child\u2019s preschool, according to Zena Stenvik, the superintendent of Columbia Heights Public Schools.<\/p>\n A school board member who witnessed the father\u2019s arrest said<\/a> that she heard an adult inside the home pleading with agents to leave the child.<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s mother, Erika Ramos<\/a>, said she \u201cwitnessed the scene from the window and couldn\u2019t do anything. Adri\u00e1n begged me repeatedly not to go outside because he was afraid they would arrest me too.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that when immigration authorities noticed her at the window, they took Liam out of their vehicle and brought him to the front door.<\/p>\n \u201cThey used my boy as bait,\u201d Erika Ramos said. \u201cEven so, my husband desperately insisted that I not go out, especially because we have another child and I am pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n DHS has repeatedly denied using Ramos as \u201cbait,\u201d saying instead that Liam\u2019s father ran off without him to evade capture.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the child\u2019s safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias,\u201d DHS said in a statement on Friday.<\/p>\n Ramos disputed DHS\u2019 account of the events.<\/p>\n \u201cI repeat, at no point did my husband do what they\u2019re saying, abandon my son,\u201d she said. \u201cNo, at no point did he do that.\u201d<\/p>\n Liam was one of four minors apprehended by immigration authorities last week, Twin Cities school district officials said.<\/p>\n Their captures are part of the Trump administration\u2019s broader immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, known as Operation Metro Surge.<\/p>\n Since December, the federal government has sent 3,000 immigration agents to the state and made more than 3,000 apprehensions of undocumented immigrants, according to DHS.<\/p>\n In addition to the child apprehensions, the killings of U.S. citizens Renee Good<\/a>, 37, and Alex Pretti<\/a>, 37, by federal immigration authorities have sparked outcry and daily protests.<\/p>\n
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