BALTIMORE — Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales remains under ICE surveillance despite being released from detention, as her lawyers worry her case could set a dangerous precedent for other US citizens if not dismissed.
Diaz Morales, who was born in Maryland on October 18, 2003, has provided extensive documentation proving her US citizenship by birth. Her legal team has submitted a certified Maryland birth certificate, contemporaneous hospital records from Laurel Regional Hospital, affidavits from individuals present at her birth, elementary school records, and Maryland Public Health immunization records dating back to infancy.
"Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales is a United States citizen by birth. She's born in Maryland on October 18, 2003. That fact is supported by a certified Maryland birth certificate, contemporaneous hospital records from Laurel Regional Hospital, affidavits from individuals who were at her birth, elementary school records, and Maryland Public Health immunization records beginning in infancy," says Victoria Slatton, Sanabria & Associates.
US citizen detained by ICE fights to prove her citizenship despite birth certificate
Despite this overwhelming documentation, ICE continues to maintain it cannot verify Diaz Morales' citizenship claims.
"It remains challenging because it is unresolved as of right now," Zachary Perez, Sanabria & Associates.
On Friday, Diaz Morales shared details about her detention experience across at least three different facilities. She described varying conditions at each location, from limited food options to different bedding accommodations. One facility didn't even have showers, she said.
While she was detained, her legal team worked frantically to gather proof of her birth in Maryland under what they describe as unprecedented circumstances.
READ MORE: “Extraordinarily irregular”: Attorneys claim U.S. Citizen detained by ICE
"Citizenship and liberty should not depend on a person's ability to gather paperwork from behind detention walls or retain legal counsel under duress," says Slatton
"The repeated times that she's had to express herself and her truth despite being absolutely firm in it, is a level of absurd that I've never had to see in my practice," Says Perez.
Although Diaz Morales has been released and returned home, she remains under ICE supervision. She must attend hour-long check-ins with the department and wear an ankle monitor.
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Her legal team's next step involves helping Diaz Morales obtain a passport as additional proof of citizenship, though they're uncertain whether even that documentation will satisfy ICE.
"We hope that if that is not enough, they will at least come to us and give us the decency of communicating what they want," says Slatton.
Diaz Morales maintains that regardless of her Hispanic heritage, she has the same rights as any other American citizen because she was born and lives in the United States.
Her lawyers hope to resolve the case before her next court hearing, scheduled for July 1.
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