A US congressman says a five-year-old detained with his father in a Texas ICE facility is depressed, as a judge blocks their deportation amid protests.
DILLEY: A five-year-old boy detained with his father by US immigration authorities is depressed and sad, according to a Democratic congressman who visited them.
Texas Representative Joaquin Castro spent about 30 minutes with Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dilley.
“His dad said that he hasn’t been himself, that he’s been sleeping a lot because he’s been depressed and sad,” Castro said in a video posted to X.
The asylum seekers from Ecuador were arrested in Minnesota on January 20.
Images of the boy in a blue bunny hat being held by officers sparked public outrage over the federal immigration crackdown.
Castro said he was concerned about Liam’s mental state, noting the boy was asleep during his visit.
A federal judge in Texas has temporarily blocked the deportation of Liam and his father this week.
The judge ruled the government could not move the pair while they challenge their detention.
“I told everybody very clearly that the country is against what’s going on, that Liam needs to be released,” Castro said of his visit.
He added that the family was “legally allowed to come into the United States because they had applied for asylum” through a proper pathway.
Local school officials have claimed agents used the boy as “bait” to draw his father out of his home.
About 100 people protested outside the Dilley facility on Wednesday to demand the child’s release.
Demonstrators were pushing back against the sweeping immigration crackdown by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Texas state police officers used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators.
Castro said he spent about three and a half hours at the facility speaking with other parents and families.
“There are no criminals in Dilley,” he said in his video.
“Donald Trump said this was about arresting illegal criminal aliens — that’s his language. There isn’t a single criminal over there.”
The crackdown has seen ICE agents shoot dead two US citizens during operations.
