A 25-year-old man from Central Texas, Brian José Morales García, has been allowed to return to the United States after being wrongfully deported to Mexico following a traffic stop in April. The decision came after the federal government reached an agreement with his legal team, who provided new evidence of his American citizenship.
Morales García was born in Denver and grew up in Mexico before moving to Texas, where he has been living and working. During a routine traffic stop near Fredericksburg, officers did not believe his claim of being an American citizen and called U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Despite presenting his birth certificate and social security number, he was deported.
However, his legal team argued that the federal government's actions were based on racial profiling and a pattern of behavior that demonstrates a willingness to detain and deport U.S. citizens. They submitted additional documents, including hospital records, affidavits from witnesses, and his certified birth record from Colorado, which supported his claim of citizenship.
The U.S. Department of Justice allowed Morales García to re-enter the country while his lawsuit regarding his detention and deportation continues. His lawyer, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, picked him up in Laredo, Texas.
"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. "The level of evidence required for someone to simply reside in the U.S. is extremely concerning and unacceptable."
Morales García has dual citizenship in Mexico, and his Mexican identification had a different spelling of his first name and a different date of birth due to a clerk's error in Mexico.
It is rare for American citizens to be wrongly deported, but the practice still occurs. A July 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office found that immigration agents arrested, detained, and removed 70 potential U.S. citizens between 2015 and 2020. An investigation by 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 no one was deported.
Morales García's civil rights lawsuit in federal court remains pending. The case highlights the complexities and challenges faced by individuals in the immigration system, particularly those who are born in the United States but may face discrimination and suspicion when trying to prove their citizenship.
The Texas Tribune, which has been covering the story, has reviewed Morales García's Mexican identification, which had a different spelling of his first name and a different date of birth. A clerk in Mexico had used common Spanish spelling for his first name — Bryan — and changed the birth date without double-checking his American paperwork, his mother previously said.
The case has sparked a broader conversation about the rights of American citizens and the need for a fair and just immigration system. As the federal government continues to grapple with immigration issues, cases like Morales García's serve as a reminder of the importance of due process and the potential consequences of missteps in the immigration enforcement process.
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