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Dulce Consuelo Díaz Morales, a 22-year-old woman, began wearing an electronic ankle bracelet this week as part of an "intensive supervision" program by ICE, despite her claim of being a U.S. citizen and her defense stating that they have presented proof of her birth in the United States.
The measure comes after Díaz Morales spent 25 days in immigration custody and was released, as reported by Noticias Telemundo from Baltimore, Maryland.
Díaz Morales herself explained that the device is uncomfortable for her and sometimes even "hurts," but she was told that it was "better this way" than going back to being incarcerated.
The report indicates that the woman had just marked a week since she was able to hug her five-year-old son again.
According to the testimony gathered by Telemundo, Díaz Morales was arrested on December 14th in front of her family near her home in Baltimore.
She recounted that, when she was arrested, she explained that she was born in the United States, but they didn't believe her because she also has documents from Mexico.
Díaz Morales said that he lived in Mexico from the age of seven and returned to the United States more than a year and a half ago; he also mentioned a possible confusion due to the use of different last names on his U.S. and Mexican documents.
The legal team argues that, after the arrest, they presented "compelling evidence" of citizenship to the government and still observed "slowness" and "reluctance" to acknowledge a mistake.
According to the lawyers, they even hired a specialist in medical records, who determined that the birth certificate and vaccination and school records in the United States are authentic, and that all of this evidence was submitted to the authorities.
Despite the release, the defense warned —according to the report— that Díaz Morales's freedom would be conditional, as the Department of Homeland Security continues to challenge the defense's claims in court and the deportation process is still ongoing. In this context, ICE would maintain periodic summons for him to appear.
In December, ICE stated that Díaz Morales “is not a U.S. citizen” and described her as “an illegal immigrant from Mexico,” claiming that she did not present a birth certificate or any evidence of citizenship.
Telemundo indicated that it has reached out to ICE again, but has not received a response so far.
Díaz Morales, for his part, stated that he is in the process of obtaining his U.S. passport and that he had an immigration check-up appointment.
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