Maryland Woman Freed After 25 Days in ICE Custody Despite Evidence of U.S. Citizenship
In a case that has quickly drawn national attention and sparked debate about the treatment of supposed U.S. citizens by federal immigration authorities, a Maryland woman claiming American citizenship was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody after 25 grueling days. Despite providing what her attorneys say is clear documentation proving her right to citizenship, she was repeatedly detained, transferred across multiple states, and only freed after intense legal and public pressure.
Understanding the Incident: How Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales Ended Up in ICE Custody
On December 14, 2025, 22-year-old Maryland resident Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Baltimore, according to her lawyers and multiple news reports. ICE agents stopped Díaz Morales while she was with her sister near their home, and despite her attempts to explain that she was a U.S. citizen by birth, she was taken into custody.
Her legal team has stated that they provided ICE with multiple documents supporting her claim — including a Maryland birth certificate, hospital records with her footprints and maternal fingerprints, and immunization records — yet ICE continued to treat her as an undocumented immigrant.
ICE’s official position has been that Díaz Morales is not a U.S. citizen and instead is a Mexican national who entered the country without authorization. The Department of Homeland Security publicly stated that she did not provide valid evidence of citizenship and maintained its view even after her release.
Conflicting Evidence: What Lawyers Say vs. Government Claims
One of the most striking aspects of this case is the stark contrast between the evidence presented by Díaz Morales’s attorneys and the government’s response. Her legal team insists the documentation clearly shows she was born in Maryland, asserting that minor discrepancies expected in long-dormant records were misinterpreted by ICE officials.
Díaz Morales’s attorney, Victoria Slatton, described the prolonged detention as unwarranted and unnecessary, saying the government had everything it needed to verify her citizenship early on. Despite a federal judge issuing an order four days after her arrest that blocked her deportation while her case was being reviewed, ICE continued to detain her for nearly a month.
On the government side, ICE and DHS spokespersons directly contradicted this account, claiming there was no valid birth certificate or proof of U.S. citizenship. They also cited a prior 2023 encounter with border officials near Arizona, where Díaz Morales reportedly identified as a Mexican citizen.
The Emotional Toll: Family Separation
While legal arguments unfolded in court, Díaz Morales’s family lived through a harrowing separation that made headlines across national media. According to NBC Washington coverage, video footage capturing her emotional reunion with her five-year-old son shows the deeply human impact of prolonged immigration detention.
She described feelings of fear and uncertainty during her detention and expressed that her faith and hope of being reunited with her family helped sustain her. Meanwhile, the family said ICE officers made no attempt to listen to her explanation about her U.S. birth when she was first detained.
Transfers Across States: What Happened During Her Detention
During her 25 days in ICE custody, Díaz Morales was reportedly moved between multiple detention centers across different states — a practice that experts say can severely hinder access to legal counsel and disrupt due process. According to CBS Baltimore, she was held in facilities in Maryland, Louisiana, Texas, and New Jersey before finally being released.
Her lawyers noted that during much of this time, they had limited contact with her, speaking to her only a couple of times. Given that she was detained over the holiday season, the lack of legal access and bureaucratic delays drew sharp criticism from immigration advocates.
What the Courts Have Done: Temporary Blocks, Ongoing Litigation
A federal district court in Maryland acted relatively early in the case, issuing an order that barred her deportation while the legal challenge was ongoing. However, this order did not immediately lead to her release. Rather, it prevented ICE from forcibly removing her from the U.S. while her citizenship claim was being reviewed in court.
Her attorneys continue to pursue her case in federal immigration court, asserting that her citizenship should be legally recognized once and for all. They have also submitted additional expert analysis from medical professionals and record specialists to bolster their position.
Wider Implications: Trends and Public Outcry
Legal experts and civil rights advocates have pointed out that cases like Díaz Morales’s are not isolated. They argue that increasing errors in immigration enforcement — especially under recent federal leadership — have led to wrongful detentions of U.S. citizens, often with little explanation from authorities.
Last year’s high-profile case of a U.S. citizen fatally shot by an ICE agent during an immigration operation in Minneapolis further ignited public scrutiny of federal immigration tactics. That incident, widely reported, brought national attention to concerns about how enforcement actions are conducted and who is being targeted.
Critics say that bureaucratic confusion over identity — such as differing surnames, dual nationality, or inconsistent record keeping — should never lead to the detention of someone with a legitimate citizenship claim. This case has reignited calls for reform in identification verification processes within immigration enforcement agencies.
What Comes Next: Legal Tightrope and Family Futures
Although Díaz Morales has been released and is back with her family, her legal battle is far from over. Lawyers emphasize that ICE’s initial assertion that she was not a U.S. citizen remains on the record, and official proceedings could still move forward in immigration court.
She is expected to continue attending check-ins with immigration officials accompanied by her legal team, and future filings are likely to focus on securing a definitive legal affirmation of her citizenship.
For her family — and many Americans following the case — the hope is that this ordeal becomes a turning point in how the government verifies and respects the citizenship rights of individuals caught in the complex web of U.S. immigration policy.
A Case With Broader Stakes for U.S. Immigration Policy
The release of Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales after 25 days in ICE custody highlights serious questions about how the federal government verifies citizenship and treats individuals at the intersection of immigration enforcement and civil rights. With conflicting accounts from attorneys and the government, and ongoing legal proceedings, the case exemplifies the broader challenges facing the U.S. immigration system — particularly regarding due process and citizen protection.
As this case continues to unfold, it serves as a powerful reminder that mistakes in immigration enforcement can have profound personal consequences and can erode public trust when innocent people are caught in bureaucratic gridlock. Legal experts argue that reform and oversight are essential to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Subscribe to trusted news sites like USnewsSphere.com for continuous updates.
