Maryland woman who says she is US citizen finally released from ICE custody | ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)
A Maryland woman was released and reunited with her family after 25 days in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody; even though his lawyers say documents show he was born in the United States and therefore a citizen.
Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales and her legal team claim that she was born in the United States and have records that support this claim. But ICE disputed this, arguing that he was a Mexican citizen who entered the United States illegally.
According to Díaz Morales, ICE agents detained him near his home on December 14 while his family watched. D.C., Maryland and Virginia told the news outlet: WRC-TV He said he tried to explain that he was born in Maryland, but authorities did not accept his explanation. He added that his faith and hope of being reunited with his family helped him endure detention.
Díaz Morales said he lived in Mexico since he was seven years old and returned to the United States more than a year and a half ago. He believes the confusion arose because he used his mother’s surname while living in Mexico, whereas U.S. records list both his father’s and mother’s surnames.
Four days after his arrest, a Maryland federal district court judge issued a statement. order prevention The court blocked the government from deporting him while it reviewed his lawyers’ petition challenging his detention.
Victoria Slatton, one of his lawyers, said: Washington Post The government has not dismissed the case against Díaz Morales, meaning deportation proceedings could continue despite his release. But Slatton said he was confident his client’s citizenship had been proven.
“He is a US citizen,” Slatton told the Post. “He was born here. I think we have presented enough evidence, but we will continue to fight this until all the courts accept and confirm this.”
His lawyers say Díaz Morales entered the U.S. without proper paperwork in 2023 to escape cartel violence and was mistakenly processed as an immigrant and therefore subject to deportation proceedings. They say the classification is a mistake.
His legal team said they submitted his U.S. birth certificate along with additional documentation they said proved his citizenship, but those documents were still not enough to secure his release from ICE custody.
“In my years of working as an immigration lawyer, I have never had to go this far for a case,” attorney Zachary Pérez, who also represents Díaz Morales, told WRC-TV. “What we were finally able to get, and what we worked to get, was a lengthy affidavit from a medical professional, a doctor, explaining why the birth certificate was authentic.”
In a statement to the Guardian, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said: “Dulce Consuelo Madrigal Diaz is NOT a US citizen – she is an illegal alien from Mexico. She has NOT produced a valid US birth certificate or any evidence to support her claim to be a US citizen.”
“On December 14, ICE arrested this illegal alien in Baltimore, Maryland. When CBP encountered him near Lukeville, Arizona, on October 20, 2023, Madrigal-Diaz claimed he was a Mexican citizen and was born on October 18, 2003,” the statement said.
Díaz Morales told WRC-TV that he has dual citizenship with Mexico and is in the process of applying for a U.S. passport. He also said he needed to check in with immigration officials soon and would attend with his legal team.
The issue of ICE targeting U.S. citizens came to international attention after a federal agent fatally shot a woman during a large-scale immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis. The victim, Renee Nicole Good, was a US citizen and mother of three children.
Good is shown on video saying everything is “fine” and “I’m not mad at you,” seconds before an on-duty ICE agent shoots at him as he drives away.
