A Texas man who was deported to Mexico by U.S. immigration authorities after a traffic stop, despite insisting he was an American citizen, has returned to the United States after federal officials agreed to allow his reentry while his case proceeds in court. Brian José Morales García, 25, crossed back into the U.S. on Sunday after the federal government reached an agreement with his attorneys following the submission of additional evidence supporting his claim that he was born in Denver, Colorado, according to his lawyers who spoke with The Texas Tribune. Morales was deported in April after being detained following a traffic stop near Fredericksburg, Texas.
At the time, he said he repeatedly told authorities that he was a U.S. citizen and that documents proving his citizenship, including a birth certificate and Social Security information, were available at his home in Austin. Customs and Border Protection agreed to allow Morales to enter the United States if he presented his birth certificate and photo identification at a port of entry at a specified date and time, according to a joint court filing reviewed by Newsweek. Morales was admitted on August 30, the filing said.
His return prompted Morales and the federal government to ask the court to cancel a September 8 hearing on his request for a preliminary injunction that would have allowed him to cross from Mexico without presenting a passport. His case drew national attention after he had been removed from the country despite holding a U.S. birth certificate and maintaining that he was born in Colorado. The Department of Homeland Security had disputed his account and alleged that he had entered the United States illegally.
Under the Trump administration's sweeping deportation program, several U.S. citizens have been caught up in immigration enforcement operations, leading to arrests, detentions and legal challenges. Civil rights advocates and immigration attorneys have raised concerns about alleged racial profiling and excessive use of force during some enforcement actions, while federal officials have maintained that officers follow established procedures when carrying out immigration arrests. According to Morales' attorneys, federal officials reconsidered the case after they submitted additional evidence in a lawsuit challenging his detention and deportation.
The materials included hospital records, sworn witness statements and a certified Colorado birth record, according to The Texas Tribune. The attorneys said the Department of Justice subsequently agreed to allow Morales to return to the United States while the litigation continues. His attorney, Kate Lincoln-Goldfinch, told The Texas Tribune she met Morales in Laredo after he was permitted to reenter the country.
Morales has said he was born in Denver but spent much of his childhood growing up in Mexico before later returning to Texas, where he lived and worked. He also holds Mexican citizenship. Previous reporting noted discrepancies between some of his U.S. and Mexican identity documents, which family members attributed to clerical errors made when Mexican records were created.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
