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A 25-year-old man from Central Texas, Brian José Morales García, has been permitted to return to the United States after being wrongfully deported to Mexico, according to his legal team. The decision comes after the federal government reached an agreement with his lawyers in light of new evidence regarding his citizenship.
Morales was deported in April following a traffic stop near Fredericksburg, Texas. Despite insisting he was an American citizen, authorities deported him after he could not provide immediate proof of his nationality. He had previously informed officers that he was born in Denver, Colorado, and had been living and working in Texas. His lawyers have since submitted additional documentation, including hospital records, affidavits from witnesses, and his certified birth record from Colorado, which all point to his American citizenship.
The U.S. Department of Justice allowed Morales to return to the country while his lawsuit regarding his detention and deportation continues. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, picked him up in Laredo, Texas. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and DOJ spokespersons did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.
"This case raises an alarming pattern of behavior on the part of the federal government, demonstrating that they're willing to racially profile, detain, and deport U.S. citizens," Lincoln-Goldfinch said. "In order to prove citizenship, someone who is born in this country has to provide more than just civil documentation about who they are, and the federal government being permitted to require this level of evidence for someone to simply reside in the U.S. is extremely concerning and unacceptable."
Morales had previously provided copies of his Social Security card and birth certificate, which show he was born in Denver. He also has dual citizenship in Mexico. The Tribune also reviewed Morales' Mexican identification, which had a different spelling of his first name and a different date of birth, due to a clerk in Mexico using common Spanish spelling for his first name and changing the birth date without double-checking his American paperwork.
It is rare for American citizens to be wrongly deported, but the practice still occurs. A congressional government watchdog found that immigration agents "arrested 674, detained 121, and removed 70 potential U.S. citizens" between 2015 and 2020, according to a July 2021 report. An investigation from ProPublica found more than 170 U.S. citizens were detained by immigration agents in the first nine months of President Trump's second administration, although the report didn't identify anyone who was deported.
Morales's civil rights lawsuit in federal court remains pending. His case has drawn attention to the complexities and challenges faced by individuals who are accused of being in the country illegally, despite being American citizens.
The incident highlights the importance of thorough investigations and due process in cases involving the deportation of citizens. It also underscores the need for better communication and collaboration between law enforcement and immigration authorities to prevent such mistakes from occurring in the future.
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