Todd Blanche disputes asylum claim for 5-year-old, dad detained by ICE

Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche stated Sunday that the 5-year-old boy and his father, who had been detained by ICE in Minneapolis final month, had not sought asylum as officers introduced the household had been launched over the weekend.

Blanche stated there are conflicting claims in regards to the authorized standing of the boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, who entered the U.S. in 2024, in keeping with public reporting, though officers and the household’s attorneys dispute the circumstances of their entry and asylum processing. Attorneys representing the Ecuadorian household say they presently have an energetic asylum declare, which is able to permit them to stay within the nation pending a courtroom determination.

The deputy legal professional common denied that that they had a pending asylum case, echoing earlier claims from the Division of Homeland Safety that described the household as being within the nation illegally.

“That is not true. There is a very significant dispute about whether or not they utilized for asylum correctly,” Blanche stated throughout an look on ABC’s “This Week.”

Federal decide orders Trump administrator to launch his five-year-old father from immigration detention inside three days

“I am unable to go into the main points of this lawsuit, however you possibly can learn the identical letter I did. And what you simply stated is just not true.”

Whereas some immigrants detained by federal brokers don’t have any prior felony report, Blanche added that the Trump administration considers unauthorized entry into the U.S. against the law and believes such people must be detained.

U.S. Deputy Lawyer Common Todd Blanche arrives for a press convention on August 11, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Photographs)

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“The truth that they’re right here illegally is against the law,” he stated. “And so if you say they do not have a felony report, that is the case: by their presence right here with out standing, coming into this nation illegally or overstaying illegally, that is against the law.”

“There may be presently a schism within the legislation over whether or not an unlawful alien may be detained pending proceedings or whether or not he must be launched on bail,” he added. “We really feel strongly that they need to be detained and there are lots of appeals.”

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Liam Conejo Ramos sits with father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias after being launched from a Texas detention heart. (Joaquin Castro)

Blanche’s feedback come after a number of days of widespread backlash from attorneys and lawmakers condemning the operation that noticed the five-year-old detained as his father picked him up from college on January 20.

The boy and his father had been launched from a detention heart in Dilley, Texas, on Saturday after a decide dominated earlier within the day.

Liam Conejo Ramos and his father move via airport safety after their launch from federal custody on February 1, 2026. (Joaquin Castro)

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, posted on social media Sunday that he picked up the household Saturday evening and escorted them again to Minnesota the following morning.

In a letter he additionally shared, the congressman wrote to the boy: “Do not let anybody inform you this is not your private home. America grew to become essentially the most highly effective, affluent nation on earth due to the immigrants, not despite them.”

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, poses with Liam Conejo Ramos, father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., following the household’s launch from a Texas detention heart. (Consultant Ilhan Omar)

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., celebrated their launch on social media with a photograph of her standing subsequent to the household and Castro, writing, “Liam is now dwelling and we’re grateful to Joaquin Castro for touring with him and his father to Minneapolis. Welcome dwelling Liam.”