Elle Fanning poses for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film ‘The Mastermind’ at the 78th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Friday, May 23, 2025. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)
that an immigrant threatened the life of President Donald Trump has begun to unravel.Noem announced an arrest of a 54-year-old man who was living in the U.S. illegally, saying he had written a letter threatening to kill Trump and would then return to Mexico. The story received a flood of media attention and was highlighted by the White House and Trump’s allies.
But investigators actually believe the man may have been framed so that he would get arrested and be deported from the U.S. before he got a chance to testify in a trial as a victim of assault, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. The person could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.Law enforcement officials believe the man, Ramon Morales Reyes, never wrote a letter that Noem and her department shared with a message written in light blue ink expressing anger over Trump’s deportations and threatening to shoot him in the head with a rifle at a rally. Noem also shared the letter on X along with a photo of Morales Reyes, and the White House also shared it on its social media accounts. The letter was mailed to anoffice along with the FBI and other agencies, the person said.
As part of the investigation, officials had contacted Morales Reyes and asked for a handwriting sample and concluded his handwriting and the threatening letter didn’t match and that the threat was not credible, the person said. It’s not clear why Homeland Security officials still decided to send a release making that claim.In an emailed statement asking for information about the letter and the new information about Morales Reyes, the Department of Homeland Security said “the investigation into the threat is ongoing. Over the course of the investigation, this individual was determined to be in the country illegally and that he had a criminal record. He will remain in custody.”
His attorneys said he was not facing current charges and they did not have any information about convictions in his record. The revelations were first reported by CNN.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s records show Morales Reyes is being held at a county jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, northwest of Milwaukee. The Milwaukee-based immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, which is advocating for his release, said he was arrested May 21. Attorney Cain Oulahan, who was hired to fight against his deportation, said he has a hearing in a Chicago immigration court next week and is hoping he is released on bond.Beware, you can only port in U.S. or Canadian phone numbers.
What about an international eSIM? They’re the virtual version of the mobile phone SIM card that you can buy and add to your phone when you’re on a trip to save on roaming fees.They offer cheap data access rates so you can use the internet without worrying about racking up a huge bill when you get home.
Unfortunately, you can’t port a Skype number to an international eSIM because of “the fundamental differences” between VoIP services and traditional mobile networks, said Pedro Maiquez, co-founder of eSIM provider Holafly. “Skype numbers are not tied to a mobile carrier’s physical infrastructure, making them incompatible with mobile eSIM solutions.”Is there a tech topic that you think needs explaining? Write to us at