A federal judge has ordered 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Alexander Conejo Arias, to be released from federal immigration custody after the pair were detained in their driveway in Minnesota last week, sparking outrage nationwide and protests at the family detention center in Dilley, Texas, where they have been held.

In a sharply worded statement, U.S. District Judge Fred Biery said the administrative warrants issued by the executive branch to its own agents “do not pass probable cause muster.”

“That is called the fox guarding the henhouse,” he wrote. “The Constitution requires an independent judicial officer.”

Below his signature, the judge also included the now well-known photo of Ramos as he was taken into custody wearing a Spider-Man backpack and a bright blue hat. The photo and Liam’s detainment sparked outrage across the country and further inflamed tensions between Minnesota residents and the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts there.,.....

The detention of children at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley has drawn mounting backlash in recent weeks. Outside the heavily secured compound on Wednesday, hundreds of faith leaders, labor organizers and advocates marched toward the detention center, calling for the release of families held inside.

In a statement Saturday afternoon, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) thanked people across the country and world for “speaking out in support of Liam and so many other children in detention.” He added that he had also reached out to Liam’s mom and lawyers to tell them he would continue “to do everything I can to make sure he is safe.”