Lawyer says Trump administration is seeking expedited deportation
“These are regular removal proceedings,” says DHS
A judge ordered the boy, his father, was released from ICE custody last month
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday it was seeking the deportation of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy who was detained in Minnesota last month.
The department, which has federal oversight of immigration enforcement, denied it was seeking expedited deportation after the boy’s lawyer, Liam Conejo Ramos, told the New York Times that the Trump administration was seeking expedited deportation.
Lawyer Danielle Molliver called the move “extraordinary” and possibly “retaliatory”.
“These are regular removal proceedings,” said department spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin, adding, “This is standard procedure and there is no retaliation against national immigration law enforcement.”
Lawyers for Liam and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who both entered the U.S. legally as asylum seekers, were held at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Dilley, Texas, until a judge ordered their release on January 31. After their release, they returned to Minnesota. The Trump administration defended the move, with the Department of Homeland Security charging Cone Arias with being in the U.S. illegally, without providing further details. The case of a 5-year-old boy who was photographed wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack outside his home when he was detained by federal agents has put U.S. President Donald Trump in the national spotlight, and top officials have said in recent weeks that they were aiming to ease tensions in Minnesota after Trump sent thousands of agents to the state as part of his crackdown on immigration.
Protests erupted across Minnesota against the deployment of immigration agents who fatally shot two US citizens in the state.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)