Inicio › ICE Detains 5-Year-Old Boy on His Way to Soccer Game With His Father

ICE Detains 5-Year-Old Boy on His Way to Soccer Game With His Father

Boy remains in custody Congressman demands his release DHS avoids explaining detention ICE agents detained Liam Tadeo, 5, along with his father on Sunday,…

Por 
ICE Detains 5-Year-Old Boy on His Way to Soccer Game With His Father

  • ICE detains 5-year-old boy and he remains in custody
  • Congressman demands his release
  • DHS does not explain detention

ICE agents detained five-year-old Liam Tadeo along with his father on Sunday, August 16, in Austin, Texas.

The father and son were on their way to a soccer game when they were detained by agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Since then, both have remained in custody at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley.

The facility houses migrant families with children while their respective immigration proceedings move forward in the United States.

  • Why it matters: The case has raised questions about holding children in immigration detention facilities and prompted public calls for the boy’s immediate release.

ICE Detains 5-Year-Old Boy on His Way to Soccer Game

The case came to light following a complaint from Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, who represents Austin.

Casar demanded the immediate release of Liam Tadeo and his father and questioned why the child remains in immigration custody.

The congressman compared the case to that of Liam Conejo Ramos, another five-year-old boy detained by ICE in Minnesota in January.

Conejo Ramos was later released with his father by court order, days after their detention.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: Can ICE Detain You at an Airport if You Have a Pending Asylum Case or Work Permit?

“He should be in kindergarten this week. Instead, he is in a trailer prison in the desert,” Casar said.

“Free Liam. Free these children. Shut down the Dilley child prison,” the congressman added in a message posted on X.

The boy’s aunt, identified as Resendiz, also publicly denounced the circumstances surrounding the detention.

Resendiz launched a fundraiser and described the detention of the child and his father as “cruel.”

“They are not criminals. They were simply on their way to a soccer game,” the relative said about the moment they were detained.

DHS Responds Without Explaining Liam Tadeo’s Case

The Department of Homeland Security did not directly address the specific circumstances surrounding Liam Tadeo’s detention.

Instead, DHS issued a statement through Secretary Markwayne Mullin regarding ICE’s general enforcement priorities.

“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is focused on the worst of the worst,” the statement said.

“Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are illegal aliens charged with or convicted of a crime in the United States,” it added.

However, the agency did not explain what crime, if any, the boy’s father is accused of in this case.

There is also no information provided indicating any accusation against the five-year-old child.

So far, the family’s country of origin has not been publicly disclosed.

It has also not been reported whether Liam Tadeo and his father currently have a pending asylum case.

  • The key detail: Available information does not specify the exact immigration grounds being used to keep the child and his father in custody.

Congressman Says ICE Arrests Have Increased in Austin

The case comes as Casar reports a significant increase in recent ICE arrests in Austin.

According to the congressman, ICE arrests rose to between three and four times their usual levels.

Casar said the increase occurred over several days in August amid immigration enforcement operations carried out in the city.

However, the congressman himself clarified that the figures come from his own count and do not represent official statistics provided by ICE.

The case in which ICE detained the 5-year-old boy remains surrounded by questions about the circumstances that led to his detention.

It also remains publicly unclear what specific grounds are being used to keep the father and child in custody in Dilley.

  • What’s next: Casar continues to demand the release of the child and his father while both remain in immigration custody.