By Jasper Ward
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said on Friday it is seeking to deport a 5-year-old Ecuadorean boy who was detained in Minnesota last month.
The department, which has federal oversight of immigration enforcement, denied that it was seeking expedited removal after a lawyer for the boy, Liam Conejo Ramos, told the New York Times that the Trump administration was seeking an expedited deportation.
The lawyer, Danielle Molliver, described the move as "extraordinary" and possibly "retaliatory."
"These are regular removal proceedings," department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, adding, "This is standard procedure and there is nothing retaliatory about enforcing the nation’s immigration laws."
Lawyers for Liam and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
Liam and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who both entered the U.S. legally as asylum applicants, were detained at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Dilley, Texas, until a judge ordered their release on January 31.
They returned to Minnesota following their release.
The Trump administration defended the move, with the Department of Homeland Security accusing Conejo Arias of being in the U.S. illegally, without providing additional details.
The case of the 5-year-old, who was photographed wearing a blue bunny hat and Spider-Man backpack outside his house when federal agents apprehended him, gained national attention in the U.S.
President Donald Trump and top officials have said in recent weeks that they aimed to deescalate tensions in Minnesota after Trump deployed thousands of agents to the state as part of his immigration crackdown.
Protests have erupted across Minnesota in opposition to the deployment of immigration agents, who have fatally shot two U.S. citizens in the state.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Mark Porter)
