A British mother who has been detained by immigration authorities in Washington state has a long history of criminal behavior, including five convictions for assault.

Lauren Jane Morris, 38, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside the Spokane County Courthouse on February 11.

She was apprehended in front of her 16-month-old daughter after having left a probation meeting related to a since-rescinded restraining order, her family told local TV station KING 5.

Morris was born in Burton Upon Trent, a town in Staffordshire, England. Her family said she grew up in London and moved to the US at the age of 15.

Her family said she is a lawful permanent resident whose daughter is an American citizen. But ICE told the Daily Mail Morris is an ‘illegal alien from the United Kingdom who has five assault convictions,’ including one as recently as August 2024.

A Spokane County judge sentenced Morris to 24 months, likely as probation, on August 6 that year after she was found guilty of fourth-degree felony assault. 

‘She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings,’ an ICE spokesperson told us. ‘Under President [Donald] Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem, if you break the law, you will face consequences.’

Public records also show that Morris has previously been convicted of criminal trespassing and violating a restraining order. 

Morris – referred to by ICE as Lauren Mellen, her ex-husband’s last name – is being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma and, as of Friday, remained in custody. ICE did not respond to our question about her daughter’s whereabouts.

Lauren Jane Morris, 38, was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents outside the Spokane County Courthouse on February 11. Her family claims she was detained in front of her 16-month-old daughter

Morris, with her daughter, has been convicted of assault five times, most recently in 2024. She was also previously been convicted of criminal trespassing and violating a restraining order 

Morris appears to have moved to the US in February 2004, according to a copy of her 2008 visa petition obtained by the Daily Mail.

She married her now ex-husband James Mellen in Montana on October 28, 2007. She would have been 19 or 20 at the time of the union.

The pair applied for marriage-based visa the following February and it was approved in June 2009.

The couple later completed a residency application on her behalf, which was approved in February 2012, court filings showed.

It is unclear when the pair officially divorced, but Morris sued Mellen for immigration financial support in 2021.

Morris alleged her highest annual income between 2014 and 2020 was her 2014 earnings of $9,883. Her lowest reported wage was $1,999 in 2020, the lawsuit stated.

Morris alleged that Mellen and Casey Duncan, who served as her immigration co-sponsor, did not provide her any financial support, which she claimed she was legally entitled to.

The case was dismissed with prejudice in October 2021, with Morris’s attorneys stating that she, Mellen and Duncan ‘amicably resolved this matter through negotiated resolution.’

Morris sued her former husband James Mellen for immigration financial support in 2021. It is unclear when the pair separated or if he is the father of her toddler child

Morris is being held at the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. An ICE spokesperson told the Daily Mail she will ‘remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings’

Morris lives in a rented $277,000 house in Spokane, property records showed. It is unknown what she pays her landlord each month.

It is also unclear what the new mother does for a living, as she has no social media presence and her employment history is not publicly available.

She has an immigration hearing in Tacoma next Thursday, February 26. 

Anti-ICE critics have rushed to Morris’s defense, including journalists at KING 5 who failed to disclose her previous run-ins with the law. 

The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red radio criticized the outlet during its Friday morning broadcast, accusing it of framing stories in a way that favors detainees.

‘This is what they do. Perhaps, even with the details of five convictions, some would not support removal,’ Rantz told his listeners.

‘Perhaps the apparent fifth conviction is what turned the woman’s life around. But it’s very obviously pertinent information that KING 5 couldn’t be bothered to report.’