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)2026-02-09T15:55:06Z MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Federal authorities have denied attempting to expedite an end to asylum claims by the family of a 5-year-old boy who was detained with his father during the immigration crackdown that has shaken the Minneapolis area. Images of Liam Conejo Ramos wearing a bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack surrounded by immigration officers stirred outrage over the crackdown.Danielle Molliver, a lawyer for the boy and his father, told the New York Times that the government was attempting to speed up the deportation proceedings, calling the actions extraordinary and possibly retaliatory.The government denied that.These are regular removal proceedings. They are not in expedited removal, Department of Homeland Security official Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement, adding there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nations immigration laws. Molliver told the Times that an immigration judge, during a closed Friday hearing, gave her additional time to argue the familys case.The boy and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who originally is from Ecuador, were detained in a Minneapolis suburb on Jan. 20. They were taken to a detention facility in Dilley, Texas. They were released following a judges order and returned to Minnesota on Feb. 1.Neighbors and school officials have accused federal immigration officers of using the preschooler as bait by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would come outside. DHS has called that description of events an abject lie. It said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway.The government said the boys father entered the U.S. illegally from Ecuador in December 2024. The familys lawyer said he has an asylum claim pending that allows him to stay in the U.S.