ICE arrests unsettle Milwaukee
Voces de la Frontera Executive Director Christine Neumann-Ortiz (center) discusses the arrest of Ramón Morales Reyes with Attorney's Kimi Abduli (right) and Cane Oulahan (left). (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
A strange turn of events followed the arrest of Ramón Morales Reyes, a 54-year-old Mexican-born man, who was living in Milwaukee as he sought a U-visa — a type of visa available to victims of crimes.
On Friday, advocates from Voces de la Frontera joined immigration attorneys representing Morales Reyes to dispute accusations made by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that Morales Reyes — who does not speak or write in English — drafted a neatly handwritten note in English threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump. Voces de la Frontera and Morales Reyes' attorneys are calling for DHS to correct the record and clear his name.
The affair began on May 21, when Voces de la Frontera received a hotline call reporting a possible sighting of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Milwaukee. Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de la Frontera, said during the Friday press conference that one of the group's 'trained community verifiers' contacted local residents who confirmed the sighting and also provided video footage of Morales Reyes being detained.
'His vehicle was left on the side of the road, and using the license plate we were able to identify the owner and communicate with his family,' said Neumann-Ortiz. 'Shortly after, Ramón's daughter came to our office to seek help. We assisted her in completing a power of attorney and ensuring that her father received the essential medication that was critical to his health. We immediately contacted attorney Kime Adbuli, who has been representing Ramón in his ongoing U-visa case.'
Neumann-Ortiz explained that a 'U-visa' is a form of immigration relief for crime victims who have suffered emotional or physical abuse and who have helped law enforcement or government officials in the investigation and prosecution of a crime. 'It provides a temporary legal status, and a pathway to permanent residency,' said Neumann-Ortiz. 'In the past, the Morales Reyes family had sought resources from Voces.'
Days after the arrest, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem provided statements for a press release describing Morales Reyes as an 'illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump.' Noem added, 'this threat comes not even a year after President Trump was shot in Butler, Pennsylvania and less than two weeks after former FBI Director Comey called for the president's assassination.'
Noem was referring to Comey sharing a picture on Instagram of sea shells arranged into the numbers '8647', which '86' interpreted as slang for 'get rid of' and '47' being a reference to Trump, the 47th U.S. president, NPR reported. Comey is now being investigated by the Trump administration. 'All politicians and members of the media should take notice of these repeated attempts on President Trump's life and tone down their rhetoric,' Noem said. 'I will continue to take all measures necessary to ensure the protection of President Trump.'
The DHS press release included an image of the note, neatly handwritten in turquoise-colored pen and in flawless English. 'We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans,' it began. 'We have done more for this country than you white people — you have been deporting my family and I think it is time Donald J. Trump get what he has coming to him. I will self deport myself back to Mexico but not before I use my 30 yard 6 to shoot your precious president in is (sic) head — I will see him at one of his big ralleys (sic).' The reference to '30 yard 6' may be an incorrectly written reference to 30-6 (pronounced as '30 odd 6'), which is a high caliber bullet for rifles.
Morales Reyes' family says that it is impossible that he wrote the note. Described by his attorneys as a soft spoken, hardworking and committed family man, Morales Reyes works as a dishwasher. He was described as coming from a rural part of Mexico where it's common for people to have no more than a third-grade education. Morales Reyes had difficulty filling out paperwork, does not speak English and is not proficient in writing in Spanish. Neumann-Ortiz said that his family called Voces organizers, confirming that Morales Reyes had very little formal education, and could not read or write in Spanish.
Since his arrest, Morales Reyes' family has received death threats on social media. 'They want his name cleared,' said Neumann-Ortiz. On the day he was arrested, CNN reported, Morales Reyes was questioned by detectives from the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), who suspected that someone may have been setting him up to get deported. Police were reportedly investigating jailhouse calls from a person who'd allegedly assaulted Morales Reyes during a September 2023 armed robbery.
CNN reported that ICE agents were given a handwritten note by Morales Reyes with family-related information, and agents realized that the handwriting did not match. The questions surrounding the letter are reminiscent of those stemming from the arrest and deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was accused by the U.S. government of being a member of the El Salvadoran gang MS-13. President Trump held up pictures which had been altered to appear as though 'M S 1 3' was tattooed on Abrego Garcia's knuckles.
Getting Morales Reyes deported would prevent him from testifying against the person in custody for allegedly attacking him, his attorneys said at the press conference.
Attorney Kime Abduli said there are due process concerns around Morales Reyes' arrest, as it could interrupt his testimony as a victim in a criminal proceeding and also impact his U-visa case. The specific visa process which Morales Reyes is undertaking 'is really meant to offer protection to people who may be undocumented who are victims of crime in the United States,' Abduli explained.
'It's meant to encourage them to report those crimes, when they are victims of those crimes, to the authorities, and to cooperate in the investigation. Where a person may be undocumented and fearful of reporting these sorts of things, Congress basically established the U-visa to make it 'safe' for them to come forward with that information. As long as they're cooperating with law enforcement, the U-visa is intended to offer some protection for that individual.' Obtaining a U-visa can be a very lengthy process spanning seven to eight years at a minimum, Abduli said.
Attorney Cane Oulahan, who is representing Morales Reyes in his deportation proceedings, said that ensuring due process is his top priority. Oulahan said that a bond hearing is expected in the coming days, where he expects the government to argue 'vigorously' for Morales Reyes to be deported. It's likely that the accusations from Noem's DHS will also be raised before the judge.
The controversy and questions come as ICE attempts to expel another Milwaukee resident. Yessenia Ruano, a teacher's aide in Milwaukee Public Schools, was ordered recently by ICE to return to her home country of El Salvador in a matter of days. This is despite Ruano having a pending visa application for trafficking victims, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
On Friday, the same day Voces and attorneys held a press conference about the Morales Reyes case, ICE ordered Ruano to get on a deportation flight on June 3. Ruano will leave behind her 9-year-old twin daughters, who are U.S. citizens. Ruano's attorneys said that it appears that ICE is abandoning policies of waiting for processing of T and U visas, which protect people from deportation. Ruano has lived in the U.S. for 14 years, has no criminal record, has a valid work visa, and is employed at a bilingual public elementary school. She said she is hoping that a final legal filing could pause her deportation.
Ruano's case spurred a flurry of condemnation from local Milwaukee officials. 'Deporting valued members of our community who are raising and educating our kids, assisting law enforcement in their important work, and giving back to our neighborhoods should alarm us all,' Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley wrote on X. 'These individuals are victims of a broken immigration system. The Trump administration told the country they were only going after 'the worst of the worst'. But time and time again, we see them targeting the very people who contribute the most — our neighbors, our coworkers, or friends.'
Crowley said that he is 'deeply alarmed that our country continues to turn its back on our most vulnerable.' He went on to say that 'by not standing up and protecting our neighbors, we're not just failing them — we're failing our entire community. Due process is under attack, and that should concern all of us in Wisconsin and across the country.'
Congresswoman Gwen Moore also released a statement, calling Ruano a 'beloved member of her community,' and declaring that 'deporting Yessenia will not make our country safer.' Moore said the deportation order 'will only separate Yessenia from her children and her community while exposing her to danger she was forced to flee in El Salvador. Instead of making America a beacon of hope for people like Yessenia, this Administration's focus is only pushing cruelty that demonizes immigrants.'
Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) said that the Trump administration's deportation of Ruano is 'wrong and harmful.' Clancy said in a statement that Ruano had volunteered at her local Catholic parish, worked in her neighborhood school, and was taking care of her family.
Recent weeks have seen ICE and the Trump Administration focus more on Milwaukee. Since late March, at least four people have been arrested by immigration agents after attending regularly scheduled hearings at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Local officials denounced the courthouse arrests, only for Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan to also be arrested by federal agents for allegedly obstructing authorities by escorting a man sought by ICE from her courtroom into a public hallway.
'Yessenia is an asset to our community whenever she touches it,' said Clancy. 'Our community and her daughters deserve to continue to have Yessenia with us here, and Yessenia deserves to continue to build a thriving life with her family in Milwaukee.' Clancy condemned ICE, saying the agency 'continues to act arbitrarily and with cruelty. We must all do what we can to protect our neighbors from it.'
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