A federal judge on Saturday ordered the release of Adrian Conejo Arias and his five-year-old son, Liam Conejo Ramos, whom immigration officers detained during a Minnesota raid.
The boy — seen in a now viral photo that showed him wearing a blue bunny hat outside his house as federal agents stood nearby — was one of four students detained by immigration officials earlier this month in a Minneapolis suburb, according to the Columbia Heights Public School District.
"The case has its genesis in the ill-conceived and incompetently-implemented government pursuit of daily deportation quotas, apparently even if it requires traumatizing children," US District Judge Fred Biery wrote in a ruling published on Saturday.
Trump orders DHS to stay away from protests in Democratic-led cities unless they seek federal help
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to "under no circumstances" get involved with protests in Democratic-led cities unless they ask for federal help or federal property is threatened.
Cities must protect their own state and local properties, Trump wrote in a social media post. ICE and Border Patrol personnel will continue to guard federal buildings, Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The announcement comes a day after thousands of protesters took to the streets of Minneapolis and across the country to demand the withdrawal of federal immigration agencies from Minnesota, following the fatal shootings of two US citizens.
The Trump administration had sent 3,000 federal officers to the Minneapolis area as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, and many of those officials found themselves facing off with protesters and activists.
It's the most recent example of Trump's willingness to use federal personnel in cities. He has sent federal law enforcement officers or National Guard members to a number of cities largely governed by Democrats, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Oregon.
He has said the moves are necessary to enforce immigration laws and control crime. Local leaders in most of those cities have disputed that assertion.
Chicago mayor tells police to probe allegations of illegal activity by immigration agents
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order directing the city's police department to investigate any alleged illegal activity by federal immigration agents and refer the agents for prosecution if necessary, his office said Saturday.
"With today’s order, we are putting ICE on notice in our city. Chicago will not sit idly by while Trump floods federal agents into our communities and terrorizes our residents," Johnson wrote in a statement.
The order instructs Chicago police officers to preserve body-camera footage from incidents and identify the federal supervisory officer on scene. Chicago officers are also supposed to complete reports on any state or local laws allegedly violated by federal agents.
The Homeland Security Department, which oversees US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol, said ICE personnel adhere to "the highest professional standard" in their work.
“These claims of criminal misconduct by ICE law enforcement are FALSE," DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Federal agents are generally immune from state prosecution for actions taken as part of their official duties. Immunity only applies when an officer's actions were authorized under federal law and were necessary and proper.
Prominent state and local Democratic leaders around the country have been pushing back against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts, especially following the deaths of two US citizens killed by federal agents in Minneapolis.