Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives, Joaquin Castro, is concerned about the mental state of a five-year-old boy who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). After visiting the detention center in Dilley, Texas, he said that Liam Conejo Ramos is ‘depressed and sad’. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
- Congressman Castro expressed concern about the mental state of the detained five-year-old boy.
- The boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, and his father were detained by ICE as asylum seekers.
- The detention of the child sparked public outrage and protests outside the center in Dilley.
- The congressman claimed that there are no criminals at the center, despite Trump’s claims.
- A judge has temporarily blocked the deportation of Liam and his father from the US to Ecuador.
ICE agents detained the boy and his father on January 20. They come from Ecuador and are asylum seekers. Footage of the detention of a five-year-old boy sparked public outrage over the anti-immigration operation of US President Donald Trump’s administration. During those crackdowns, agents fatally shot two people in Minneapolis in January.
Representatives of the school in Dilley say that agents used the boy as “bait” to lure his father out of the house. The congressman was with Liam and his father in the detention center for about half an hour on Wednesday. The boy’s father said Liam “sleeps a lot because he is depressed and sad”. Castro added that Liam slept even during his visit.
“I’m concerned about his mental state,” the congressman said in a video posted on the X network. “I made it clear to everybody that the country is against what is happening, that Liam must be released, the country is demanding his release. No five-year-old child should be held like this“, he stated.
According to Castro, the boy’s family was legally allowed to come to the United States because they applied for asylum in the right way. A federal judge in Texas this week temporarily blocked the deportation of Liam and his father.
The congressman stated that there are no criminals in the mentioned center. “Donald Trump said it’s about keeping illegal immigrants criminals – that’s his vocabulary. There’s not a single criminal there,” he declared.
About 100 people outside the Dilley Detention Center on Wednesday demanded the boy’s release and expressed dissatisfaction with extensive measures against migrants, introduced by the Trump administration. Texas police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
