Liam Ramos' family plans to appeal asylum denial after ICE detention during Operation Metro Surge
A Minnesota father and son whose January detention by federal immigration agents sparked national attention have been denied asylum by an immigration judge, though attorneys for the family say they plan to appeal.
Liam Ramos, 5, and his father were taken into custody by ICE agents from their home in Columbia Heights during the ICE surge in January. The image of the young boy being detained by federal agents drew international interest.
An immigration judge in New York denied the asylum claim about a month ago after the federal government requested the case be placed on an expedited track, according to Pascal Wacocha, an immigration attorney working with the Ramos family.
Attorneys for the family filed an appeal shortly after the denial, Wacocha said. The appeal is set to be reviewed by a judge, and the family will be allowed to remain in the country while they wait for that review.
"I think for the family, it is they feel that they have been traumatized, as we all know here what the family went through the little boy and his family," Wacocha said.
Wacocha said the appeals process could take anywhere from weeks to months.
Representatives for the family said Ramos and his father entered the U.S. from Ecuador and used an official app to start the asylum process. The Department of Homeland Security said it has no record of that.
After their January detention, the father and son were held at the Dilley immigration center in Texas until February, when a federal judge ordered their release back to Minnesota. Columbia Heights School officials alleged Liam was used as bait during the detention.
"It just feels so so hurt for the family and all they've been through," Columbia Heights Mayor Amada Marquez Simula said.
Samuel said she is asking for immigration reform to help keep Liam and his family in the country.
"I hope that our government can be the America that I want it to be, that it can be the place where, when we ask for asylum, and people want to be here, and they want to work hard, that we are a country that can do that for them," Samuel said.
Wacocha said the family is seeking consideration from the federal government based on due process rights and the humanitarian circumstances of their case.
A spokesperson for Columbia Heights Public Schools called the denial "heartbreaking" and said the district remains hopeful for a positive outcome on appeal.
