In the wake of growing controversy last fall surrounding the El Paso mass shooting, the Philippines National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Philippines National Police (PNP) both launched investigations into Watkins, as first reported last year by WIRED magazine.
An NBI official told ABC News last week that the bureau's investigation into Watkins was closed, and the findings turned over to the PNP. Philippines police officials said their investigation into Watkins remains open but has not to date resulted in any criminal charges.
Yet, in a previously unreported development in January, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration's (BI) Investigations Division determined that James Watkins was a risk to the public interest, a designation called an "undesirable alien," according to Philippines immigration records obtained by ABC News.
Watkins "is the owner and operator of 8chan, a hate filled forum/website which hosts trolling and serves as go-to resource for violent extremists and white supremacists," the bureau of immigration's charging sheet states.