Judge blasts 'ignorant' Trump administration as he orders release of five-year-old and father detained by ICE
The judge criticised Trump's ICE rollout, saying the administration is "bereft of human decency" and whose "cruelty knows no bounds".
A US judge has blasted the Trump administration in a scathing three-page verdict demanding the release of a five-year-old boy and his father, who were detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week.
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Five-year-old Liam Ramos was taken into federal custody last week when his father, Alexander Conejo Arias was detained by federal immigration agents on their driveway in suburban Minneapolis.
The pair were consequently sent to an ICE detention centre in Texas.
Now, the judge has demanded the pair's release, hitting out at an "ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children."
In the three-page letter, District Judge Fred Biery hit out at the US government's apparent "perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency".
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"Apparent also is the government's ignorance of an American historical document called the Declaration of Independence," he continued.
The scathing letter is signed off with a verse from the Bible and an image of five-year-old Liam, with the judge citing Matthew 19:14 - "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these".
Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias is seeking asylum in the United States.
Highlighting a "pesky inconvenience called the Fourth Amendment", the judge highlighted the need for ICE to adhere to the US Constitution.
"Civics lesson to the government: Administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to itself do not pass probable cause muster. That is called the fox guarding the henhouse."
"Observing human behavior confirms that for some among us, the perfidious lust for unbridled power and the imposition of cruelty in its quest know no bounds and are bereft of human decency. And the rule of law be damned," he continued.
Liam, wearing a Spider-Man backpack and blue cap, fuelled outrage online against ICE and Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric.
Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias is seeking asylum in the United States.
According to reports from his family and lawmakers, who visited him this week, the preschooler is sick, lethargic and asking for his mother.
Judge Biery also referenced Thomas Jefferson’s warnings against “a would-be authoritarian king".
The documents state that the boy and his father must be released “as soon as practicable,” but no later than February 3.
Liam’s image has become representative of the widespread arrests in Minneapolis - the latest focus of Trump’s mass deportation efforts.
Another incident involved a two-year-old girl and her father, who were brought into federal custody after ICE agents broke into their car on their way back from the supermarket.
The activity of ICE in Minneapolis has triggered widespread protest across the nation, and follows the killings of two protestors by ICE - Renee Good and Alex Pretti - in behaviour that has been widely condemned as unnecessarily violent.