DHS allegedly deports U.S. citizen after Hill Country arrest; Agency claims man admitted illegal status

Brian Morales, born in Denver, was deported to Mexico after a Texas traffic stop. Morales claims agents ignored his documents; DHS claims he admitted illegal status.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 13, 2026, 11:07 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from the San Antonio Current

Disputed Deportation Near San Antonio

A legal and humanitarian controversy has erupted following the deportation of Brian Morales, who claims to be a U.S. citizen born in Denver, Colorado. According to investigative reports, Morales was pulled over by authorities in Fredericksburg, roughly an hour from San Antonio, and subsequently handed over to Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Morales alleges that despite his repeated offers to produce his birth certificate and Social Security card from his home, agents refused to verify his documents and threatened him with a five-year prison sentence for fraud if he did not agree to a voluntary departure.

Conflicting Accounts of Citizenship and Language Barriers

The case is complicated by Morales' personal history; although born in the U.S., he was raised in Mexico from a young age and is not fluent in English. Investigative correspondent Lidia Terrazas reports that Morales had returned to the U.S. as an adult using his birth certificate and was in the process of obtaining a Real ID at the time of his arrest. However, a DHS spokesperson issued a firm rebuttal to these claims, stating that record checks identified Morales as a Mexican national and that he explicitly admitted to entering the country illegally. The agency maintains that "CBP did NOT arrest a U.S. citizen."

Political Fallout and Allegations of Racial Profiling

U.S. Representative Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) has condemned the deportation, citing it as an example of systemic racial profiling. Castro argues that the current political climate and aggressive deportation quotas have created an environment where federal agents may ignore claims of citizenship to expedite removals. Advocacy groups, including America’s Voice, have echoed these concerns, suggesting that the drive for high-volume deportations under the current administration has compromised the constitutional rights of Latinos, regardless of their legal status.