By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH and VALERIE GONZALEZ

A federal judge has issued a temporary order prohibiting removal of a 5-year-old Ecuadorian boy and his father whose arrest last week in Minnesota quickly become another lightning rod for America’s divisions on immigration under the Trump administration.

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U.S. Judge Fred Biery ruled Monday that any removal or transfer of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, is on hold while a court case proceeds.

The father and son are now at family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, near San Antonio.

They were taken into custody last week outside their home in Minnesota. Neighbors and school officials say that federal immigration officers used the preschooler as “bait” by telling him to knock on the door to his house so that his mother would answer.

The Department of Homeland Security has called that description of events an “abject lie.” It said the father fled on foot and left the boy in a running vehicle in their driveway.

Ramos’ attorney, Jennifer Scarborough, didn’t immediately respond to phone or email messages from The Associated Press seeking comment. The Department of Homeland Security sent a response only reiterating their version of events, insisting they did not arrest or target the child. Their statement did not address the judge’s court order.

Federal officials have said the father was in the U.S. illegally, without offering details. Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said the man entered the country in December 2024.

The family’s attorney said he had a pending asylum claim allowing him to stay in the country.