A Maryland mother whose family says she was born in the United States was detained by federal agents in Baltimore and is now facing possible deportation.
Her family and attorneys say they have submitted all proof of her U.S. citizenship, but 22-year-old Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales remains in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Her family says they do not know why Díaz Morales, who lives in Baltimore with her family and her 5-year-old son, was detained Sunday.
It’s something that ICE disputes, claiming instead that Díaz Morales is undocumented and from Mexico.
In an emailed statement, an ICE spokesperson said, “Dulce Consuelo Madrigal Diaz is NOT a U.S. citizen–she is an illegal alien from Mexico. She did NOT provide a U.S. birth certificate or any evidence in support of her claim that she is a U.S. citizen.”
“On December 14, 2025, ICE arrest Dulce Consuelo Madrigal Diaz, an illegal alien from Mexico, in Baltimore, Maryland,” the statement continues. “On October 20, 2023, when CBP encountered her near Lukeville, Arizona, Madrigal-Diaz claimed she was a citizen of Mexico and was born on October 18, 2003. Her case is being adjudicated and she is receiving full due process. Any allegation that ICE does not allow detainees to contact legal assistance is FALSE. All detainees have access to phones to communicate with lawyers.”
The family provided News4 with what it says is a copy of her birth certificate. The document says she was born in Maryland, although her family says she lived in Mexico for most of her life.
Díaz Morales’s attorneys say they have shared the birth certificate with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). News4 has asked DHS about that. We are still waiting on a response from the DHS.
News4 reached out to the Maryland Department of Health to verify the document. A spokesperson said the department would not comment publicly on those records, citing privacy concerns.
Her attorneys say that ICE has no legal basis for her detention, calling it a major mistake. It’s something they are now fighting in court.
“I saw them put two trucks in front,” Díaz Morales’s sister, Lucia Madrigal Díaz, said in Spanish about the moment Díaz Morales was detained. “Two trucks in front and two behind.”
She says the family was coming back home from doing laundry and picking up some food when ICE agents in trucks pulled up around Díaz Morales’s car.
The agents then confronted Díaz Morales.
“They took Dulce,” Madrigal Díaz said in Spanish. “They didn’t ask her if she was born here. They never asked her anything. They just told her they were going to arrest her and take her away.”
Díaz Morales was held at the ICE facility in Baltimore until Wednesday, when, according to her attorney, she was transferred to another ICE facility in Louisiana.
An order issued Thursday by a federal judge in Maryland now prohibits Díaz Morales from being deported, saying, “Given the jurisdictional questions embedded in the merits of the petition,” Díaz Morales cannot be removed from the U.S.
“Her son, he cries and cries and cries, and we can’t do anything to stop it because we’re his aunts,” Madrigal Díaz said in Spanish. “We can’t give the love of his mom.”
According to Díaz Morales’s family, she holds dual nationality between Mexico and the U.S. She spent 15 years living in Mexico, but returned to the U.S. two years ago.
“We have received less than any justification,” Díaz Morales’s attorney Zachary Pérez said. “There’s actually been a refusal to engage with the information that we’ve provided. As far as I understand things — and we’re representing her currently in front of multiple courts — as far as I understand things, this is a massive error committed by the government on many levels.”
Pérez says ICE has not notified them of the reasons for Díaz Morales’s detention. He himself has not been able to speak with Díaz Morales.
“She is not in any type of criminal proceedings. So if she did, or the government wants to allege that she entered unlawfully, that’s an entirely separate proceeding which they have not bothered to address or even attempt to bring,” Pérez said. News4 has independently searched court records in Maryland and has not found evidence of a criminal history.
Madrigal Díaz says the agents shouldn’t have been able to arrest her sister.
“They couldn’t take her, because she’s from here,” Madrigal Díaz said in Spanish. “It’s illegal because she’s from here. They couldn’t take her.”
Díaz Morales’s attorney disputed what ICE said in their statement to News4 about his access to his client. As of Friday, he has yet to communicate directly with her — but he has been told he will be able to do so at some point this weekend.
“I am very concerned that if we are not able to get this situation resolved quickly, it’s going to make it that much worse for the next person that ICE makes this type of mistake about,” Pérez said.
For now, Díaz Morales’s family is left waiting, wondering when they will see her again.
“She’s very hard working,” Madrigal Díaz said in Spanish. “She doesn’t cause problems. She’s careful with her son, very patient and takes care of us. She took care of us from a very young age.”
There is an online court record in U.S. District Court in Maryland for the judge’s order prohibiting Díaz Morales from being deported. But the reason ICE has for the initial arrest, her detention since then and her possible deportation is not publicly available.
Díaz Morales’s attorneys have filed a petition with the Immigration Review Office requesting an update to her citizenship status.
They hope this will be resolved soon so Díaz Morales can return home and embrace her loved ones in time for Christmas.
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