Maryland Woman Held 25 Days by ICE Released Despite Citizenship Evidence, Lawyers Say
A Maryland woman held in ICE custody for 25 days was released Wednesday despite conflicting government claims about her citizenship and her case highlights ongoing tensions over immigration enforcement.
The prolonged detention of 22-year-old Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, arrested Dec. 14 in Baltimore, continued even after her lawyers provided what they say is overwhelming evidence that she was born in the United States and is a U.S. citizen.
Her legal team submitted a Maryland birth certificate, hospital records with her footprints and her mother’s fingerprints, and immunization records starting in infancy, and also secured expert analysis supporting her citizenship claim. The evidence was not enough to prompt immediate release. A federal judge barred her deportation days into detention, but she remained in custody and was transferred among at least five ICE facilities across several states.
Her lawyer said on video after her release, “Dulce is being released… we wanted to be there to make sure she was processed correctly.”
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The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly explained why her detention continued after the judge’s order or acknowledged whether the documentation will now end removal proceedings. The legal fight over her citizenship, her A-number record in immigration systems, and how administrative errors can impact U.S. citizens remains unresolved.
Civil rights lawyers say the case underscores broader challenges in immigration enforcement when documentation discrepancies arise. Her attorneys are pursuing further legal action to clear her status and prevent future detentions.
Diaz Morales is now reunited with her family in Maryland and is expected to attend immigration check-ins next week as her case moves forward. What happens next is ongoing legal clarification of her citizenship status.
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