Father Denies Abandonment Charges After Immigration Detention with Son

Tue Feb 03 2026 02:14:42 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Adrian Conejo Arias insists he did not abandon his son during an immigration arrest, challenging government claims and highlighting health concerns for the child while in federal custody.

Adrian Conejo Arias, whose 5-year-old son was detained by immigration enforcement, has vocally rebutted allegations of abandonment made by the Department of Homeland Security. Arias claims that contrary to official accounts, he never left his son alone and raised concerns about the child’s health while in custody. The controversy has sparked societal outrage against immigration policies, particularly during a time of increased enforcement and volatile political discourse surrounding immigration in the U.S.

The father of a 5-year-old boy who was detained by immigration officers and held at a federal facility in Texas denied government accounts Monday that he abandoned his son as the pair returned to Minnesota.

Adrian Conejo Arias, who is originally from Ecuador, told ABC News that he loves his son, Liam, and would never abandon him, disputing statements from the Department of Homeland Security, which alleged that Arias had left his child in a vehicle. He also said his son got sick while in federal custody but was denied medicine.

Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin claimed in a statement that Arias fled on foot before he was arrested, “abandoning his child.” She asserted that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stayed with the boy.

“The facts in this case have NOT changed: The father, who was illegally in the country, chose to take his child with him to a detention center,” McLaughlin said.

However, she did not address Arias’ statements regarding his son being denied medication while in custody.

Arias contends he was arrested unjustly and asserts that he is in the country legally, with a pending court hearing for asylum.

The comments come after a federal judge ordered over the weekend that the pair be freed. They were released Sunday and returned to Minnesota, according to Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas.

The family’s arrest and release unfolded during President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration, which has led to daily protests highlighting the treatment of immigrants. Amid this backdrop, images surfaced showing immigration officers surrounding the young boy in a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack, drawing public outrage.

Border czar Tom Homan suggested that mistakes had been made, but reiterated the commitment to enforce federal law and called for cooperation with local officials.

In ordering the release of Liam and his father, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery criticized the administration's tactics, stating that the case had “its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children.”