Liam is home: 5-year-old boy and his father back in Minnesota after release from ICE detention

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Photo shared by Rep. Ilhan Omar shows 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Liam Conejo Ramos, back in Minnesota after being released from a detention center in Texas. (FOX 9)

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Liam Conejo Ramos, a 5-year-old boy who was taken into ICE custody from Columbia Heights, is back in Minnesota with his father after a judge ordered their release from an immigrant detention center in Texas. 

Lawmakers say he arrived in Minneapolis on Sunday morning.

READ MORE: Judge orders release of 5-year-old Liam Ramos, father from detention in Texas

Liam Ramos returns to Minnesota

Big picture view:

Rep. Ilhan Omar posted a photo of them at the airport on Sunday morning.

Rep. Joaquin Castro said he escorted the father and son back to Minnesota after picking them up from the Dilley Detention Center in Texas. Castro also thanked everyone who demanded their freedom. 

Photo shared by Rep. Joaquin Castro shows Liam Ramos and his father Adrian Arias. (Supplied)

The backstory:

Reports of Liam's detainment sparked outrage after a photo showed him in ICE custody.

Photo taken by bystanders of Liam Conejo Ramos at the scene of his detainment by ICE. Photo courtesy of Columbia Heights Public Schools (Supplied)

The family's attorney says the family is in the country legally as they pursue a claim for asylum. 

The attorney says they have shown up for their court hearings and posed no safety threat, adding that they were being held for civil immigration violations. 

The attorney claimed that during the arrest, ICE agents then tried to use the child as 'bait,' walking him up to the family's front door and having him knock on the door, asking to be let in.

The other side:

The Department of Homeland Security had repeatedly and voraciously disputed this allegation, claiming instead that Ramos had been abandoned by his father, who tried to run away from agents. DHS said ICE officers tried to return the boy to his mother's custody but claimed she refused to take the child. 

Ultimately, DHS said the father agreed to allow the child to remain with him in custody. DHS also claimed ICE agents cared for the boy during the operation.