A five-year-old boy and his father were back in Minneapolis on Sunday after being released from a Texas immigration detention center where they were held for more than a week, according to US House representative Joaquin Castro.

“Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam,” Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, said in a post on X. “We won’t stop until all children and families are home.”

The Texas politician said he picked them up from the detention center and brought them back to Minneapolis early Sunday.

Liam Conejo Ramos and his father Adrian Conejo Arias were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on 20 January.

A viral photo of the five-year-old preschooler wearing a bunny hat and a plaid coat sparked outrage across the country after claims that the child, who was arrested on the driveway of his home, was used as bait to try to arrest his mother.