Democrat Arrested After ICE Found Out He’s NOT a U.S. Citizen
The former mayor of a conservative Kansas town was taken into custody by immigration authorities on Wednesday after admitting last year that he voted in elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.
Joe Ceballos, a lawful permanent U.S. resident born in Mexico, was detained during a meeting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Wichita, according to his attorney, Jess Hoeme.
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Hoeme said Ceballos now fears possible deportation.
TCeballos, 55, resigned as mayor of Coldwater in December while facing state charges related to unlawful voting by a noncitizen.
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According to his attorney, he acknowledged during a 2025 citizenship interview that he had voted without realizing green card holders are not eligible to participate in federal elections.
Ceballos later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in a plea agreement with the office of the Kansas attorney general after initially being charged with illegal voting.
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The case has drawn attention from the Trump administration and prompted demonstrations of support in his hometown. Supporters gathered outside the federal building in Wichita, holding signs reading “We Support Mayor Joe” and “ICE Out” as Ceballos entered the building.
“Thinking what could happen — it’s just kind of crazy,” Ceballos told reporters. “Obviously nervous. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know where they’re going to take me and what I can and can’t do inside there.”
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This year, Donald Trump has urged Republicans in Congress to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require documented proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register to vote.
The administration has also expanded a Department of Homeland Security program used to verify citizenship status. At least 25 states, most of them led by Republicans, have used the system to review voter registration rolls.
Joe Ceballos was brought to the United States from Mexico by family members when he was 4 years old. His attorney, Jess Hoeme, said the next step will be seeking his release on bond before an immigration judge.
Hoeme said Ceballos registered to vote at age 18 during a school trip to the Comanche County Courthouse, where students were encouraged to sign up on site, the Associated Press reported.
He was elected twice as mayor of Coldwater, a town of roughly 700 residents, and also served on the city council. Although he won reelection in November, he resigned after Kris Kobach charged him with unlawful voting and election perjury.
Democrats and their media allies continue to argue that “vote fraud is rare,” but the Justice Department continues to find numerous examples.
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Harmeet Dhillon, announced in March that a comprehensive review conducted by the DOJ of approximately 50 to 60 million voter records has revealed hundreds of thousands of ineligible registrations.
The audit of voter registration records found more than 300,000 deceased individuals still listed as active voters, as well as tens of thousands of non-citizens who have already cast ballots in federal elections.
Inaccurate voting rolls combined with shotgunning mail-in ballots to every address listed on them can lead to widespread vote fraud, Republicans have repeatedly argued.
Dhillon’s team has been actively addressing the issue of inaccurate voter rolls since President Trump took office.
In December 2025, a report noted that an initial review of 47.5 million records revealed over 260,000 deceased voters and thousands of illegal registrations.
The situation has now worsened, and the assessment only covers a limited number of states that have agreed to cooperate.
“We have run some records for some states. So, I think we’ve run something between 50 and 60 million voter records so far. And, you know, during this president’s tenure, we have found hundreds of thousands of people who shouldn’t be on the voter rolls—people who are dead, people who have moved, and duplicate registrations,” Dhillon told Newsmax TV at the time.
