Threat From Within: Some Migrants Turn America’s Deportation Machine Against One Another

In Trump’s second term, fear is currency—and some migrants are cashing it in. The case of Ramon Morales Reyes exposes a darker turn: when ICE becomes a tool of revenge.

WASHINGTON — In an immigration system already bloated with quotas and cruelty, a new tactic is quietly surfacing among migrants themselves: using deportation as a weapon against one another.

Take the case of Ramon Morales Reyes, a 54-year-old undocumented migrant who found himself accused of something extreme: threatening to assassinate Donald Trump. ICE swooped in. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X within hours of his arrest, praising ICE agents for stopping an “illegal alien who threatened to assassinate President Trump.”

But there’s a catch: Reyes seems to have been framed.

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Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that Reyes’ arrest may have stemmed from a fabricated letter—one he didn’t write. A handwriting analysis found no match between Reyes and the threat. The alleged motive? Another man—currently jailed for physically assaulting Reyes—wanted him deported before he could testify. In this America, removing a witness isn’t about hush money anymore. It’s about tipping off ICE.

Immigration as Leverage