Immigration judge says she needs more time to review case of a framed migrant accused of threatening Trump
An immigration judge on Wednesday said she needed more time to review the case of an undocumented immigrant who police investigators say was set up and delayed a hearing for a week.
The man, Ramon Morales-Reyes, appeared before immigration Judge Carla Espinoza Wednesday morning over video conferencing, calling in from the Wisconsin jail he's currently being held in.
In late May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Morales-Reyes after receiving a letter purporting to be from him threatening to kill President Donald Trump before self-deporting. Police quickly suspected a setup and, from reviewing jailhouse phone calls, discovered that a man who allegedly assaulted Morales-Reyes in 2023 had orchestrated the letters in order to have the migrant deported, court records allege.
That man, Demetric Scott, has now been charged with several new counts including identity theft.
Judge Espinoza said she needed more time to review evidence filed by Morales-Reyes over the letter, which was submitted last night by his attorney.
'A different individual has now confessed to writing that letter,' Morales-Reyes' attorney, Cain Oulahan, told the judge.
Department of Homeland Security attorney Caitlin Corcoran told the judge that Morales-Reyes is eligible for a bond while his immigration proceedings play out.
'I'm not going to argue that he's ineligible for bond,' Corcoran said. 'He's bond eligible.'
Corcoran also said she needed more time to review evidence around the letter, to which Oulahan quipped that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem already posted about the letter and accusation.
'I think the department should be aware of it,' Oulahan said, referring to Noem's previous post that accused Morales-Reyes of threatening the president.
DHS has not removed or retracted Noem's statement accusing Morales-Reyes.
Judge Espinoza said she would only be weighing whether Morales-Reyes is a danger to the community or a flight risk during the next hearing, scheduled for June 10.
'That is what I'll be analyzing during the next court hearing,' the judge said, noting that despite the case garnering news coverage, 'the court will look at the evidence before it. Not anything else.'
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