UPDATE 1-Judge orders release of 5-year-old, father detained in Minnesota ICE 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," U.S. District Judge Fred Biery wrote in a ruling published on Saturday.

A federal judge has ‌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," U.S. District Judge Fred Biery wrote in a ruling published on Saturday. "Ultimately, Petitioners ‍may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home ​country, involuntarily or by self-deportation. But that result should occur through a ⁠more orderly and humane policy than currently in place."

The Ecuadorean boy and his father, who ⁠entered the United States legally as asylum applicants, were sent to a family detention facility in Dilley, Texas, their attorney Marc Prokosch previously told ⁠Reuters. Prokosch and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately return requests ⁠for comment.

Armed and ‌masked officers detained two 17-year-olds and a 10-year-old in addition to Liam, school district Superintendent Zena Stenvik said last ⁠week.

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