Nearly two months after five-year-old was detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Minnesota, he is now reportedly worried about getting detained again.
Speaking with CBS News, Liam’s parents said their son is deeply scarred by his experiences in ICE detention.
Liam was taken into custody along with his father, while he was wearing a blue bunny hat and his school backpack, a moment which was captured by photos and videos, and reignited Washington’s polarising debate over immigration enforcement.
Liam detained in Minnesota
Earlier in January this year, a five-year-old Liam was taken into custody, a move that sparked global outrage over US President and his administration’s stance on .
Liam and his father, who spent nearly two weeks in an ICE holding facility in Texas, were released after a sharply critical ruling from a federal judge, who noted that their detention stemmed from a poorly conceived and incompetently executed government effort to meet daily deportation quotas, apparently even at the cost of traumatising children.
According to an AP report, an immigration judge denied the asylum claim of the five-year-old’s family and ordered them deported to Ecuador, their family lawyer said.
Despite being released, Liam’s family still faces serious legal uncertainty and risks being detained again and ultimately deported. The federal government continues to pursue its deportation. Recently, officials terminated their asylum case and are appealing the court order that led to Liam and his father’s release from ICE custody.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in a statement, said that Liam’s family had been ordered deported by an immigration judge after receiving “full due process.” The federal agency said that it has also encouraged parents in similar situations to voluntarily leave the country with their children.
Liam’s parents narrate the ordeal
Following their release from the detention centre, Adrián Conejo Arias, Liam’s father, said that his son now regularly sees a psychologist. Speaking with CBS on 5 April, he 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.”
Erika Ramos, Liam’s mother, said that he has been exhibiting signs of psychological trauma, which include hypervigilance and isolation. She said, “My boy is very different.”
Liam’s mother also noted that the five-year-old is prone to acting out. Recalling how her son was before his detention, Erika said he was once a happy, playful kid who now doesn’t want to attend certain classes or play with other children.
When asked what scares him most, Liam answered, “la inmigración,” a term Spanish speakers use to refer to federal immigration authorities.
California Democrats slam ICE for using excess force
Liam’s family is not the only one that has borne the brunt of the Trump administration’s hard stance on immigration and the subsequent crackdown. Last month, California Democrats slammed ICE for using excessive force while detaining a woman, who appeared distressed in the video that was circulated online.
The incident was reported on 22 March, following which Democratic leaders slammed the agency and added that such incidents could further deepen fear among immigrants. The Democratic leaders also called for accountability and clarity from the federal authorities.
