A Department of Homeland Security official conceded Wednesday that an undocumented migrant believed to have been framed with threatening to kill President Donald Trump is no longer under investigation.
DHS and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had initially highlighted the arrest of Ramon Morales-Reyes in connection with the threat before CNN reported law enforcement believed he was a victim of a setup. The department has not issued a correction or taken down a news release on the case since then, though the DHS official conceded Morales-Reyes is no longer being examined for the purported threat.
“This criminal illegal alien is no longer under investigation for threats against the president, but will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings as he is in the country illegally with previous arrests for felony hit and run, criminal damage to property, and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier,” the official said Wednesday.
Wednesday’s admission came after CNN pressed White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about whether the Department of Homeland Security would issue a clarification or correction to their previous statements. “We can ask the Department of Homeland Security and get back to you,” Leavitt told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins at Tuesday’s press briefing.
Earlier Wednesday, an immigration judge said she needed more time to review the case and delayed a hearing for a week.
The judge 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.”
In late May, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers detained Morales-Reyes after receiving a letter purporting to be from him threatening to kill 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.
State prosecutors have separately charged that man.
This story has been updated with additional details.
CNN’s Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.
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