Liam was taken into custody on Jan. 20 alongside his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, during an ICE operation in Minnesota. After the arrest, Liam and his father were transferred more than 1,200 miles to the South Texas Family Residential Centre in Dilley, one of the nation's largest family detention facilities. Family attorney Eric Lee, who represents several detainees at Dilley, said conditions inside were "absolutely abysmal." He told Minnesota Public Radio that food had been contaminated and that guards were "often verbally abusive," adding that medical care was delayed even in serious cases. Representatives Joaquin Castro and Jasmine Crockett visited the facility on Jan. 28 and said the child appeared visibly unwell.