Liam Conejo Ramos, the five-year-old boy taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis, is now sick, sleeping a lot and asking for his mom, according to his family and lawmakers who have visited him.
Liam and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, drew national attention when they were taken by ICE last week. The viral image of the young boy wearing a blue, bunny-ear hat and a Spider-Man backpack during his father’s detainment has only further fueled the outrage in Minnesota and nationwide over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett, both Democrats from Texas, visited Liam and his father Wednesday at a detention facility, the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley. Both lawmakers reported being alarmed by the child’s condition and are demanding his release.
Castro said the preschooler asking for his mom and his family, and telling his father he wants to go back to school.
“He seemed lethargic. His father said that Liam has been sleeping a lot, that he’s been asking about his family, his mom and his classmates, and saying that he wants to go be back in school with his classmates,” Castro said at a press conference Wednesday.
“He’s asked about his backpack and his cap that he was wearing when they picked him up in Minnesota,” he added.
Crockett shared her worries for the child in an interview with CNN Wednesday after the visit.
“He was so lethargic. He was never alert, the entire time that we were there. I was very, very concerned about his health,” she said. “His father indicated that he was not eating, that they had determined that he was depressed.”
Crockett also told CNN that the five-year-old only has one set of clothes, which his father washes every night after he goes to sleep.
Liam’s mother, Erika Ramos, told Minnesota Public Radio that her son’s health was deteriorating.
“The situation of my husband Adrian and my son Liam inside the detention center is deeply concerning,” she said Monday. “Liam is getting sick because the food they receive is not of good quality. He has stomach pain, he’s vomiting, he has a fever and he no longer wants to eat.”
When contacted for comment, the DHS provided The Independent with a statement from Dr. Sean Conley, Acting Director and Chief Medical Officer for the Office of Health Security.
“A pediatrician examined him and found no medical concerns. It is standard policy to provide medical care from the moment an alien enters ICE custody,” Conley said. “This includes medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to necessary medical appointments and 24-hour emergency care. This is the best healthcare many of these individuals have received in their entire lives.”
“Ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE. Illegal aliens are provided with three meals a day that are certified by dieticians, including pediatric considerations,” he added.
The lawmakers also voiced deep concerns about the state of the Dilley facility as a whole.
Crockett told CNN she heard concerns that the drinking water is making some people sick.
“They consistently talked about the water and how awful it was, and they said that the water makes them sick. They told us before that, literally, when people kept getting sick with certain water, they found that there was mold that had been like in this container, and then they basically just put, like, some rocks or some bleach or something in it,” she said.
Attorney Eric Lee, who attempted to visit the Dilley facility Sunday, said he’s similarly concerned about the water being used for baby formula, according to CNN.
“The water is putrid. They have to mix baby formula with water that nobody wants to even smell. The food has bugs in it. The food has dirt in it,” Lee said.
Castro said he heard from attorneys who said their clients have been “locked in their room.” He also told CNN “there isn’t always proper medical treatment” at the facility.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin pushed back on some of these claims in a statement to CNN.
“The Dilley Immigration Processing Center is NOT on lockdown,” she said. “Additionally, ICE would NEVER deny any illegal alien medical care. These types of smears are leading to our officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them.”
Castro said Thursday he’s planning to visit Liam and other residents at the Texas facility tomorrow.
“I will be putting in notice Friday morning with DHS to return to Dilley to check on Liam again and the many other children and families there. Liam did not look well. My staff and I are very concerned about him,” Castro wrote on X.
Federal officials have defended the detainment of Liam and his father.
McLaughlin has said ICE “did NOT target, arrest a child or use a child as ‘bait,’” and that agents “abided by the father’s wishes to keep the child with him.” Marcos Charles, acting executive associate director of ICE enforcement and removal operations, has accused Liam’s father of “abandoning his child in the middle of winter in a vehicle.”
The DHS has characterized Liam’s father as an “illegal alien.” The family’s attorney, Marc Prokosch, told reporters last week the father and son “came legally and are pursuing a legal pathway.”
