On February 1, US Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro said that 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father had returned home in a suburb of Minneapolis after being temporarily detained by US immigration officers and taken to a detention facility in Texas.
Liam is home. With his hat and backpack" - Mr. Castro wrote. "We will not stop until all children and families are home.
A photo that spread strongly on social networks last month showed Liam wearing a blue bunny hat, standing outside his house, surrounded by federal agents. According to Columbia Heights Public School, Liam is 1 of 4 students detained by immigration officials in a suburb of Minneapolis.
The boy with Ecuadorian nationality and his father - who legally entered the US as asylum seekers - were detained at a facility in Dilley, Texas. He was taken away on January 20.
In a ruling on January 31, Federal Judge Fred Biery wrote that the case stemmed from "a carelessly designed and poorly implemented daily deportation targeting by the government, even if it meant psychological harm to children".
Mr. Biery - appointed under former President Bill Clinton - leads the US Constitution, according to which arrest warrants must be based on a judge's reasonable grounds for a crime. The use of "administrative orders" issued by immigration officials themselves, according to him, is "no different from letting the fox watch the chicken coop.
Democratic senators have called for reforms after large-scale implementation campaigns in Minnesota and many other states, as well as after 2 fatal shootings targeting US citizens in Minneapolis involving US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Reform requirements include mandatory personal camera wearing, termination of mobile patrol teams and cessation of facial masks.
Some mayors of the Republican Party also believe that reform is needed. "Overall, we are encouraged that the government seems to be considering an adjustment" - Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt said on local television on February 1.
According to Mr. Holt, mayors are "falling into an almost impossible situation" as federal immigration law enforcement forces are present in cities, and believe that the events in Minneapolis risk eroding the trust that the government has built with residents for a long time.
Mr. Holt spoke just 1 day after US President Donald Trump ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) not to interfere in protests, unless federal assets are threatened or local authorities request support.
