Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem said that a Mexican citizen who came to the US illegally is now in federal custody after reportedly threatening to kill President Donald Trump.
Noem said in a news release on Wednesday that Ramon Morales-Reyes, 54, was taken on May 22 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
According to DHS, Morales-Reyes wrote a letter to an ICE field intelligence officer in which he laid out a plan to kill Trump. This led to his arrest.
“We are tired of this president messing with us Mexicans — we have done more for this country than you white people,” the letter read. “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 his head — I will see him at one of his big rallies.”
Morales-Reyes was taken into custody by ICE in Wisconsin. He is being imprisoned at the Dodge County Jail in Juneau, Wisconsin, awaiting deportation proceedings. Between 1998 and 2005, he unlawfully entered the United States’ border at least nine times, according to the DHS.
According to the press release, his criminal record includes charges for felony hit-and-run, criminal property damage, and disorderly conduct with a domestic abuse modifier.
Noem’s message emphasized the need to temper harsh political rhetoric and highlighted the growing threat to Trump’s security.
“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.
Noem noted a recent Instagram post by former FBI Director James Comey, which raised concerns among Trump fans. Seashells were placed to spell “86 47” in the photograph, which some took as a coded reference to the assassination of the 47th president.
On May 16, the Secret Service interrogated Comey about the appointment. He denied having any aggressive intent and erased the photograph.
Noem also cited an attempted assassination of Trump during a campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when a bullet just missed the then-candidate’s head and grazed his ear.
Threatening rhetoric from Democratic politicians and left-wing media is forcing top Trump officials to travel with extra layers of security.
That includes FBI Assistant Director Dan Bongino and border czar Tom Homan, though media outlets that frequently attack them for their no-nonsense approaches to reforming the bureau and enforcing immigration laws appear to only be concerned in “gotcha” angles to the story, such as the cost of those security details in an era where President Trump is seeking to shrink federal expenditures.
According to CBS News, citing unnamed sources, the security for Homan is approximately $500,000 per month. One unnamed official stated that the total monthly cost for protecting Homan—including agent salaries, flights, hotel stays, and other travel-related expenses—rises to nearly $1 million, as the administration continues to shield the high-profile immigration hardliner.
“DHS ensures our leaders are safe and protected,” Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin told CBS News on Friday, pointing to the “dangerous rhetoric” from politicians and activists targeting the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. She said the heated discourse has led to a rise in assaults and doxxing incidents, where officials’ personal information is exposed online.
“We will continue to take measures to ensure Mr. Homan and his family are safe,” McLaughlin added.
Homan is protected by a rotating team of special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative arm of DHS, according to one source. Around 30 agents cycle through shifts to provide him with 24/7 security coverage, an unnamed source told CBS News.
“The protection for Homan — which includes a security detail at his home, when he drives to his offices in the White House West Wing and at Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s D.C. headquarters, or when he is out in public — is paid for by DHS,” the outlet reported.
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