A man prosecutors say was falsely accused of threatening President Donald Trump faced a deportation hearing on Tuesday in Chicago.
Ramón Morales Reyes, a Milwaukee resident, was falsely accused of writing a letter threatening the president, with prosecutors arguing he was framed by a man who allegedly robbed Reyes and is facing criminal charges in that case.
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WATCH HEREAn immigration judge in Chicago set Morales Reyes’ bond at $7,500, saying that after looking at the evidence in the case she does not believe that he is a danger to the community.
The Department of Homeland Security still has a day to file an appeal on that ruling as loved ones try to raise the money to free Morales Reyes from ICE custody.
He was arrested by ICE agents on May 21 after he dropped off his child at a Milwaukee school. The case made national headlines, as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on social media about the arrest, with the White House sharing those posts.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Morales Reyes doesn’t speak English fluently, and that handwriting samples he submitted did not match the letters that were addressed to Trump.
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It was later revealed that Demetric D. Scott, currently awaiting trial on other charges in Milwaukee County, had authored the letters as part of a plot aimed at getting Morales Reyes deported. The two are connected because Scott allegedly robbed Morales Reyes, and the latter man is expected to testify in the upcoming criminal trial.
Scott already faced charges of armed robbery and aggravated battery in that case, but has also now been charged with felony witness intimidation, identity theft and bail jumping in connection to the forged letters.
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SIGN UP Prosecutors say Scott admitted to police and in recorded calls from inside prison that he had written the letters, aiming to get Morales Reyes deported and to get his criminal case dismissed.
Morales Reyes lives with his wife and three children in Milwaukee and has recently applied for a U visa, which is for people in the country illegally who become victims of serious crimes, his attorney Kime Abduli told the Associated Press.
During Tuesday’s hearing, activists held a protest outside of the courtroom at Monroe and Wabash, saying they were aiming to stand up for undocumented immigrants who they say deserve to be in the United States.
“These are people who are trying to make a better life for themselves they bring richness to our city they bring a richness to our neighborhoods and their hard-working people who are just trying to race families and get ahead. There’s no sense in deporting these people,” one of the activists said.
