Screenshot

The parents of five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, whose ICE detention sparked national outrage, told CBS News that their son “seems to be a different boy” since his detention.

The image of the child in a blue bunny hat became a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration push that swept up not only “the worst of the worst” criminals, but also immigrants who tried to enter the U.S. legally.

Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Ramos, were detained in Minnesota in January and transferred to a family detention center in Texas. They were released after two weeks, but the government is threatening to detain them once again.

“The family from Ecuador says they entered the country legally at a port of entry in 2023 under a Biden administration program,” said reporter Camilo Montoya-Galvez.

“ICE has told us that you tried to escape, flee, evade arrest, and that you abandoned Liam in the process,” Montoya-Galvez said to Liam’s father. “Is that accurate?”

“No, it’s not true what people are saying,” Conejo Ramos said, while Liam’s mother Erika Ramos, said she believed ICE used their son as “bait.”

“The most difficult thing was, I couldn’t do anything,” Erika Ramos said of her family’s detention.

“I think it was an injustice that they did that to us, when in reality we were doing everything right,” Conejo Ramos said.

Liam’s parents told Montoya-Galvezson that their son remains “deeply scarred” by his time in ICE detention, and regularly sees a psychologist.

“As parents, it worries us a lot that he’s no longer as he was before and we’re worried this could last a long time,” Liam’s father said. “It does worry us that this will not heal quickly.”

Liam’s mother said that Liam has been showing signs of psychological trauma, “including hypervigilance and isolation.”

“My boy is very different,” she said.

Montoya-Galvez asked Liam what he was scared about the most.

“La Inmigración,” Liam responded.

“Immigration, ICE,” Montoya-Galvez repeated in English.

The family was recently denied asylum by a federal immigration judge and are appealing the ruling.

The post 5-Year-Old Detained by ICE Tells CBS He’s Still Scared of ‘La Inmigración’ — Parents Say He’s Now ‘Very Different’ first appeared on Mediaite.