US Citizen Deported to Mexico by DHS Despite Citizenship Claims, Report States

Brian Morales, a 25-year-old US citizen born in Denver, Colorado, was deported to Mexico following a traffic stop in Texas, according to a report by The Independent. Morales, who does not speak English, was pulled over with his construction crew by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents.

He informed the agents that he lacked identification on him but could retrieve his Social Security number, birth certificate, and medical records from home to verify his citizenship.

The agents did not allow Morales to obtain the documents and instead accused him of fraud, threatening him with five years in prison, the report states. Morales informed three different agents of his US citizenship status. Fearing imprisonment and separation from his daughter, he signed voluntary removal papers and was deported to an unfamiliar location in Mexico without prior notification of the destination.

Morales was taken to Mexico as a toddler by his parents and later returned to the US as an adult, crossing the border legally with his birth certificate. At the time of the incident, he was in the process of obtaining a Real ID. His boss, also a US citizen, was placed into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody despite claiming proof of citizenship at home.

The Independent has reached out to DHS for comment but received no response as of the report's publication. The deportation raises questions about verification procedures for citizenship claims during immigration enforcement actions. Affected individuals, such as Morales, face challenges in returning to the US and resuming their lives, including employment and family reunification.