When an image of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody circulated online in mid-January, it sparked nationwide outrage.
In the photo, Liam wears a blue winter hat with bunny ears and a backpack nearly half the size of his small frame. An ICE agent’s hand holds the backpack.
The photo quickly became attached to headlines that the child was used to lure his family members out of their home to be detained by federal agents.
A lawyer for the family previously said in court filings that Liam’s father, Adrian Conejo Arias, who is from Ecuador, had legally entered the country under American guidelines for asylum, according to reporting from The New York Times. The Department of Homeland Security, however, had charged that Conejo Arias had entered the country illegally in December 2024.
Both Liam and his father were detained and taken to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, where they remained for over a week. A judge ordered their release on Saturday, January 31, and by Sunday, the pair was escorted back home to Minnesota, with the support of Texas Congressman Joaquin Castro.
“Yesterday, five-year-old Liam and his dad Adrian were released from Dilley detention center. I picked them up last night and escorted them back to Minnesota this morning,” Rep. Castro shared in a social media post.
“Liam is now home. With his hat and his backpack. Thank you to everyone who demanded freedom for Liam. We won’t stop until all children and families are home.”
Still, the Trump administration continues its aggressive immigration operations in Minnesota and across the country. And Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Trump administration will appeal a federal judge’s decision to release Liam and his father from the ICE detention facility in Texas.
So, in an act of resistance against ICE and the detention of children like Liam, activists have taken to crocheting their own blue bunny hats in solidarity. They are wearing and sharing them under the hashtag #HatsForLiam on social media.
A crocheter known as The Laughing Lamb has created a free pattern for other stitchers to follow along.
“[Liam] is one of many, but his sweet bunny hat has become an enduring symbol for those of us who oppose the cruelty of this administration and the unchecked violence being perpetrated against our neighbors. There are a lot of tears woven into this silly bunny hat,” the crocheter wrote on social media.
“If you want to make your own hat, I think that would be amazing. I would love to see a line of protesters wearing bunny hats, or like-minded individuals putting love out into the world.”
The “Liam’s hat” beanie. Photo courtesy of The Laughing Lamb/Instagram
The Laughing Lamb added that this is the first time they have ever written a pattern, but that they wanted to try their best to document the process so that others can follow along.
The “Liam’s hat” pattern is available to download for free on Ravelry.
Some commenters asked if The Laughing Lamb would charge for the pattern and donate proceeds to immigrant charities — similar to the red trending “Melt the ICE” hats, which have raised over $580,000 by selling knitting and crochet patterns for $5 a pop.
The creator responded by saying it is intended to act as a symbolic protest that they will not profit from.
“For those of you wanting to do something, but don’t know what, grab some yarn! I am making my boys and some friends’ kids blue bunny hats like Liam Ramos’s,” one person who shared their creation under the #HatsForLiam hashtag wrote on Instagram.
“This may not seem like much, but my hope is that when people see the hats, they think of Liam and all the kids like him. When I see Liam, I see my boys. I wish we could all see him in our kids, too.”
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Header images courtesy of The Laughing Lamb and Rep. Joaquin Castro via Instagram
