Woman who says she was born in Maryland released from ICE custody after 25 days
A 22-year-old Maryland woman, whose lawyers say is a U.S. citizen and had been detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Texas, has been released from federal custody.
Victoria Slatton, Dulce Consuelo Diaz-Morales's lawyer, said she was released after 25 days in ICE custody.
"I want to be careful here because this is not a full victory," her lawyer said on social media. "Her case has not been terminated. It's also still a tragedy that she was in detention for 25 miserable days."
Diaz-Morales was detained by ICE agents in Baltimore in December before she was transported to Louisiana and then Texas. Her lawyer says she is an American by birth, with documentation and a witness to prove she was born in a hospital in Laurel, Maryland.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has denied Morales' citizenship.
Homeland Security said Diaz Morales is not a U.S. citizen
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says Diaz Morales is not a U.S. citizen and claimed "she did not provide a valid U.S. birth certificate or any evidence in support of her claim that she is a U.S. citizen."
She said Diaz Morales was questioned by border patrol in 2023 near the Arizona-Mexico border and told authorities then that she was a Mexican citizen.
"Any allegation that ICE does not allow detainees to contact legal assistance is false," McLaughlin told WJZ. "All detainees have access to phones to communicate with lawyers."
Lawyer pushed for Diaz Morales's release
Slatton has posted viral videos about Diaz Morales's case on the social media platform TikTok, pleading that her client be released.
Diaz Morales was taken into custody as she headed home from Taco Bell in Baltimore, and was ICE agents placed her in a van, according to her family.
Slatton argues that Diaz Morales was born at a hospital in Laurel, Maryland.
"It is an indisputable fact that she was born inside the United States. I've seen her birth certificate. We have immunization records. We have multiple affidavits from people who were there at her birth," Slatton said. "I've personally called the hospital, and they confirm they do have records. They just cannot release them at this time. But we are working on getting additional evidence, but we have her birth certificate. That should be enough. She never should have been picked up in the first place."