Trump administration retaliates as new proceedings filed over 5-year-old boy detained by ICE

Donald Trump's administration has retaliated after proceedings were filed by lawyers representing a five-year-old boy detained by ICE.

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was detained in Minneapolis with his father Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias.

Footage of Liam being taken by ICE while wearing a Spiderman backpack and blue hat sparked outrage on social media and around the world.

Now, Liam's family have claimed that the Department of Homeland Security is hitting them with 'retaliatory' obstacles, and is trying to push forward deportation proceedings for Liam and his father.

After their detention in Minnesota on January 20, the pair were taken to an ICE facility in Texas, where they were kept with other children and families.

Danielle Molliver from Nwojocha & Operana Law Offices is representing the family, and said that a motion filed by the DHS on Wednesday aims to expedite their deportation.

Liam's detention sparked outrage and protests (Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images)

Molliver said that this sort of reaction is 'not very common', and said she believes that the DHS motion is 'retaliatory'.

"It's really frustrating as an attorney, because they keep throwing new obstacles in our way," she said. "There's absolutely no reason that this should be expedited. It's not very common."

Adrian Conejo Arias has also spoken out since his detention, telling MPR News in an interview translated from Spanish: "The government is moving many pieces; it's doing everything possible to do us harm, so that they’ll probably deport us. We live with that fear too."

Molliver explained that the father and son may not be deported to Ecuador, where they are from, and that that may be able to apply for asylum in a third country.

The case has drawn national attention after footage of Liam being detained by ICE officers went viral on social media.

Minneapolis communities have rallied against ICE operations in their city (ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP via Getty Images)

Liam has now returned home to Minnesota this week, where Minnesota US Rep. Ilhan Omar and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas welcomed him.

Castro said in a previous interview with PBS News: “Liam is not doing well. He has been sleeping a lot. He hasn't been eating well, and he's been very depressed. He misses his mom, he misses his classmates, and he wants to go home."

The Texas representative went on to say that conditions at the Dilley detention center in Texas were poor, with people held there saying they found 'worms occasionally in their food'.

The US federal government has carried out a sustained ICE operation in Minnesota, where communities across the state have organized in opposition to ICE.

Since the operation, ICE have shot dead two Minnesotans, mom-of-three Renee Nicole Good, and ICU nurse Alex Pretti, both 37. Eight people in total are said to have been killed in dealings with ICE since the start of the year, reports The Guardian.

Pretti was pinned to the ground by multiple officers as he attempted to help another protester, before officer fired 10 rounds at him in five seconds, at point blank range.