A US judge has ordered the release of a five-year-old boy and his father from an immigration detention centre in Texas, condemning the arrests as driven by "the perfidious lust for unbridled power".
The arrest of Liam Conejo Ramos, photographed wearing a blue bunny-shaped hat and a Spider-Man backpack, sparked national outcry after he was taken into custody on the driveway of his home in Minneapolis.
The child's father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, was also arrested.
Following the outrage over the pre-schooler's arrest, immigration officials said they did not "target a child" but were conducting an operation against his father, an "illegal alien" who "abandoned" his son when approached.
On Saturday, US District Judge Fred Biery granted an emergency request from the family's lawyer, ordering government officials to release the father and son by 3 February.
