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ICE arrested and detained U.S.-born Maryland woman for 25 days despite documented citizenship evidence

ICE arrested Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, 22, during a December 14, 2025 traffic stop in Baltimore and detained her for 25 days across five facilities in Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey, despite her Laurel, Maryland birth certificate, hospital and immunization records, and birth-witness affidavits. DHS disputed her citizenship, citing a 2023 Customs and Border Protection encounter near Lukeville, Arizona, and an in-absentia removal order issued in January 2025, while a federal judge barred her removal pending litigation and she was released January 7, 2026 under ICE supervision.

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Baltimore, Maryland

Abuses documented

Actors

On December 14, 2025, ICE agents arrested Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, 22, in a traffic stop in Baltimore while she was a passenger in a car her sister was driving; agents gave the sister no reason for taking Diaz Morales into custody. Diaz Morales says she was born at a hospital in Laurel, Maryland, and her attorneys had already provided ICE a Maryland birth certificate, hospital records, immunization records, and multiple witness affidavits from people present at her birth. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated on the record that "Dulce Consuelo Madrigal Diaz is NOT a U.S. citizen -- she is an illegal alien from Mexico," and that she had provided no valid birth certificate. DHS based its position on an October 20, 2023 encounter in which Customs and Border Protection agents near Lukeville, Arizona recorded her stating she was a Mexican citizen, and on a removal order entered in absentia in January 2025 that her attorneys say was based on a defective hearing notice.

Diaz Morales was held for 25 days, transferred among five facilities in Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey, and separated from her family during that period; her attorneys said she was also denied timely access to counsel during the transfers. She was moved to a Louisiana facility on December 17, 2025, hours before a federal court order barring her removal took legal effect that same day. U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson extended that order on December 18, 2025, prohibiting DHS from removing her or changing her immigration status while the habeas litigation proceeded. She was released from ICE custody in Elizabeth, New Jersey on January 7, 2026, under continued ICE supervision.

Updates

2025-12-18 — Federal judge barred removal pending litigation [7]

U.S. District Judge Brendan Hurson entered an order in the federal habeas case Diaz Morales v. Baker (D. Md.) enjoining DHS and ICE from removing Diaz Morales or changing her immigration status while the case proceeded.

2026-01-07 — Released after 25 days in ICE custody [2, 4]

Diaz Morales was released from ICE detention in Elizabeth, New Jersey after 25 days and five facility transfers, remaining under ICE supervision and required to check in with immigration officials.

2026-06-01 — Obtained U.S. passport DHS had demanded as proof [5]

Diaz Morales received a U.S. passport, which DHS had itself requested as proof of citizenship after previously rejecting her birth certificate and other documentation.

2026-06-15 — DHS moved to dismiss the removal case [5]

DHS moved to dismiss the removal proceedings against Diaz Morales after she produced the passport; her attorney said she was "no longer subject to deportation proceedings," though the dismissal was without prejudice, leaving DHS able to reopen the case.

2026-06-24 — Federal habeas case marked closed [7]

The federal habeas docket for Diaz Morales v. Baker (D. Md.) was marked completed, following DHS's June 15, 2026 motion to dismiss the underlying removal case.

Why we recorded this

Due process protects everyone physically present in the United States, and it depends on the government accepting documented proof rather than overriding it with its own contested account. ICE arrested Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales despite a Maryland birth certificate, hospital records, immunization records, and witness affidavits, and held her 25 days across five facilities while DHS publicly insisted she was a Mexican national based on a 2023 border encounter and a since-disputed in-absentia removal order. This archive records the detention because the government's own confirmed reversal -- the removal case was dismissed after she obtained a U.S. passport DHS itself had demanded -- shows the citizenship dispute it used to justify 25 days of custody did not hold up.

Sources

  1. Maryland woman moved to ICE detention facility in Texas as lawyer seeks to prove U.S. citizenship — CBS News Baltimore (WJZ) primary accessed August 31, 2026
  2. Maryland woman released from ICE detention after 25 days, still fighting to prove citizenship — CBS News Baltimore (WJZ) primary accessed August 31, 2026
  3. Md. woman detained by ICE despite citizenship claim is released — The Washington Post investigative accessed August 31, 2026
  4. Detained then released, Maryland woman still trying to prove to ICE she's a citizen — The Baltimore Banner primary accessed August 31, 2026
  5. Deportation effort against Maryland mother fighting to prove U.S. citizenship dropped, attorney says — CBS News Baltimore (WJZ) primary accessed August 31, 2026
  6. 'Extraordinarily irregular': Attorneys claim U.S. citizen detained by ICE — WMAR-2 News Baltimore primary accessed August 31, 2026
  7. Diaz Morales v. Baker, No. 1:25-cv-04151 (D. Md.) — Habeas Dockets (federal court docket tracker) primary accessed August 31, 2026

See also