Boy on Bad Bunny’s show fuels rumors after the Super Bowl, but they confirm that he is not Liam Conejo Ramos, the migrant child detained by ICE in Minnesota.
Midway through the Super Bowl halftime show, Bad Bunny knelt on stage, stroked the head of a Latino child, and handed him what appeared to be a Grammy while saying: “Always believe in yourself.” The scene, broadcast live, went viral instantly and gave rise to a version that spread widely on social media: that the boy was Liam Conejo Ramos, a migrant child whose story has received national attention in recent weeks.
However, that version is false. According to NPR Music, a Bad Bunny publicist confirmed that the child who appeared on the show is not Liam Conejo Ramos. At the same time, a representative for the boy’s family told Minnesota Public Radio that the boy on stage has no relation to the Conejo Ramos family’s case.
Rumors surrounding the child in Bad Bunny’s show
The image of the Puerto Rican singer handing a Grammy to a Latino child, in a show filled with messages about identity and migration, led many internet users to link the moment to Liam’s story. In posts and comments, it was claimed that the boy in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl show was the same minor who had been detained by immigration agents in Minnesota.
The artist’s gesture, accompanied by the phrase “Always believe in yourself,” was interpreted as a nod to migrant families and to the children affected by the operations. That reading fueled the theory that the child was Liam, even though there was no official confirmation.
As hours passed, the version spread across different platforms, until clarifications from Bad Bunny’s representatives and the Conejo Ramos family halted the rumor.
What the parties confirmed
According to NPR Music, Bad Bunny’s team was clear: the minor who appears on stage during the halftime show is not Liam Conejo Ramos. The production of the show chose a boy to accompany the symbolic Grammy scene, but he is not the migrant child whose image has traveled across the country.
Separately, a representative of the Conejo Ramos family told Minnesota Public Radio that the boy in Bad Bunny’s show is not Liam. With this, the family distanced itself from the viral narrative linking it to the Super Bowl show.
The two confirmations align: the boy on stage is someone else. Even so, the televised moment reinforced the debate about migration and the impact of federal policies on children and families.
Who is Liam Conejo Ramos?
Liam Conejo Ramos is five years old. According to reports cited by NPR, he and his father, Adrián Conejo, were detained by federal immigration agents on January 20 at the entrance to the home where they live in Minneapolis.
A photograph of the minor, carrying a Spider-Man backpack and wearing a blue hat with rabbit ears, went viral. Liam’s image, surrounded by agents, became one of the symbols of the immigration crackdown pushed in Minneapolis during the administration of then-President Donald Trump.
After the detention, Liam and his father were transferred to a family detention center in Dilley, Texas, a facility designed for families with children. According to available information, a judge ordered their release earlier this month and both returned home.
The Conejo Ramos family is originally from Ecuador and is seeking asylum in the United States, while the federal government is seeking to end such requests, according to cited reports.
ICE operations and fear in communities
Liam’s case occurred within the framework of the so-called Operation Metro Surge, launched in December by the Department of Homeland Security. According to reports, the operation deployed about 3,000 federal immigration agents in Minnesota and has resulted in hundreds of arrests, including undocumented immigrants with no prior criminal records.
The actions have also been linked to the deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents, which has increased concern and criticism of the strategy.
Public media have documented that, amid these operations, some families in the Twin Cities area have chosen not to leave their homes. Their children stay indoors, stressed, and many kids feel anxious and scared by the constant presence of immigration agents in the area.
A show loaded with political messages
The confusion about the boy in Bad Bunny’s show also relates to the tone of the performance. The artist’s act at the Super Bowl was predominantly in Spanish and was filled with symbols related to Latin identity and migration in the United States.
Bad Bunny’s presence on stage has been widely commented on and, according to reports, he received both praise and criticism. On one hand, many celebrated that a Spanish-language concert occupied a central space at a major NFL event. On the other hand, there were those who questioned the artist’s political messages.
At the previous week’s Grammy Awards, Bad Bunny had already taken a stand on the immigration enforcement campaign, with a direct line to ICE: “We’re not savage. We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans. And we are Americans,” according to reports.
During the Super Bowl show, the singer said “God Bless America” and mentioned countries in North America, Central America, and South America, a way to underline the continent’s diversity and the Latino presence.
