A U.S. federal judge has blocked the possible deportation of a 5-year-old and his father for now

Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, is detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers after arriving home from preschool, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, in a Minneapolis suburb. (Ali Daniels via AP)

A Minnesota preschooler detained in Texas with his father cannot be imminently deported, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Liam Conejo Ramos, 5, was taken away from his family’s suburban Minneapolis driveway last week after federal agents apprehended his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias.

The Department of Homeland Security claimed Liam’s father is an “illegal alien” from Ecuador and said agents took the boy with them after the father said he wanted Liam to stay with him.

But an attorney for Liam’s family said Conejo committed no crimes and followed “all the established protocols” for legally seeking asylum in the US, including “showing up for their court hearings.”

Liam and his dad were taken across the country to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas — an ICE detention facility for families.

The father has filed a lawsuit against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, US Attorney General Pam Bondi and other federal officials.

On Monday, a federal judge ruled “that any possible or anticipated removal or transfer of Petitioners Adrian Conejo Arias and L.C.R., a minor child, is IMMEDIATELY STAYED until further order from this Court,” a court document states.

In addition, federal officials “SHALL NOT TRANSFER Petitioners Adrian Conejo Arias and L.C.R., a minor child, outside of this judicial district during the pendency of this litigation and until further Order of this Court,” the ruling says.

CNN has reached out to an attorney for the family and DHS for comment.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

By Holly Yan, CNN