Father of 5-year-old detained in Minnesota disputes government assertion he abandoned the boy

Associated Press (AP)CenterEN 6 min read 100% complete by By MIKE CATALINI, STEVE KARNOWSKI and SHARON LURYEFebruary 2, 2026 at 07:23 PM

Read Original Article

AI Summary

long article 6 min

Adrian Conejo Arias, a father from Ecuador, is disputing government claims that he abandoned his 5-year-old son, Liam, who was detained by immigration officers and held at a federal facility in Texas. According to Arias, he loves his son and would never abandon him. The Department of Homeland Security had alleged that Arias left his child in a vehicle, but Arias denies this claim. In January 2026, Liam was released from detention along with his father after an order signed by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery granted their release. The order included a picture of the boy and Bible verse references. Arias claims that his son became ill while in federal custody but was denied medicine.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Joaquin Castro ×230% Fred Biery 30% Ecuador 30% San Antonio, Texas 40% Dilley detention center 40% Minneapolis 50% U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement 60% Department of Homeland Security 60% Minnesota ×270% Adrian Conejo Arias ×380% Liam Conejo Ramos ×590%

Keywords

immigration detention 90% child detention 80% abandonment assertion 70% department of homeland security 60% federal custody 50% minnesota 40% denied medicine 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Negative

Score: -0.40

Source Transparency

Source

Associated Press (AP)

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

Network visualization showing 12 related topics

View Full Graph

immigration detention child detention abandonment assertion department of homeland security federal custody minnesota denied medicine

Explore Full Topic Graph