ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. — Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, the man shot by ICE agents in Glen Burnie on Christmas Eve, has been released from immigration custody and reunited with his family.
A federal district court judge ordered his release after more than eight months of detention.
Sousa-Martins, 31, was shot multiple times — including in his back and thigh — and suffered a collapsed lung during a December 24, 2025, confrontation with ICE agents in a residential neighborhood in Glen Burnie, Maryland.
Anne Arundel County
Christmas Eve shooting involving ICE agents leaves two injured in Glen Burnie
Court records show ICE agents were conducting a targeted immigration enforcement operation when they approached a white van registered to Sousa-Martins. According to court records, agents attempted to box in his vehicle to question him about his immigration status. After a brief struggle, Sousa-Martins put the car in reverse, then into drive, damaging the agents' vehicles. Agents then fired at the van.
Sousa-Martins was charged with resisting arrest and destruction of government property. His federal criminal case concluded with a sentence of time served, but he remained in immigration detention until the court ordered his release.
Anne Arundel County
Man shot by ICE agents in Glen Burnie charged with resisting arrest
An ICE spokesperson previously told us that Sousa-Martins had resided in the United States illegally for 17 years, entering in December 2008 and overstaying his visa after it expired in February 2009.
We Are CASA and the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights filed a federal habeas petition on his behalf.
"This is the moment Tiago's family has been fighting and praying for: he is home," Alice Barrett, Managing Attorney at We Are CASA, said in a statement. "Since Christmas Eve, his children have been without their father and his family has lived with the uncertainty of whether they would be together again. Today, we celebrate with them. Tiago belongs at home, surrounded by the people who love him."
Sousa-Martins also released a statement following his release.
"I want to express my deepest gratitude to We Are CASA. I truly don't know where I'd be without them. They stepped in when I needed it most, not only supporting me through my own ordeal but also standing by my family every step of the way. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you," Sousa-Martins said. "Today, I can finally say I am free. It was a long and difficult battle, but I'm here to tell you that it is possible. Please, don't ever lose hope. Don't give up."
A second person who was present during the December confrontation, Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, suffered minor injuries and was also taken to a hospital at the time of the incident.
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