The former mayor of a conservative Kansas town was detained by immigration authorities on Wednesday after admitting that he voted in last year’s election even though he was not a U.S. citizen.
Joe Ceballos, who was born in Mexico and is a legal permanent resident of the United States, was detained during a meeting at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Wichita, Kansas, according to his attorney, Jess Hoeme. He said Ceballos now fears he could be deported.
The 55-year-old resigned as Coldwater mayor in December while facing state charges for voting as a noncitizen. When seeking citizenship in 2025, Ceballos admitted in an interview that he voted but was unaware that green card holders were not eligible, Holm said.
Ceballos was charged with illegal voting but pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor in an agreement with the Kansas attorney general in April. His case drew attention to the Trump administration and galvanized supporters in his community, some of whom held signs that read “We support Mayor Joe” and “ICE Out” as Ceballos walked into the Wichita federal building.
“Let Joe go!” the crowd shouted.
“It’s a little crazy to think about what could have happened,” Ceballos told reporters. “Obviously nervous. I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t know where they were going to take me and what I could and couldn’t do in there.”
An email seeking comment from the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately returned.
Since the start of the 2024 presidential election, Trump and other Republicans have been warning of the dangers of non-citizens voting in elections. Even research by Republican election officials shows the problem is rare.
This year, Trump has been pushing congressional Republicans to pass the SAVE Act, which would, among other things, require written proof of U.S. citizenship to register and vote.
The administration also significantly upgraded a Department of Homeland Security citizenship check program. At least 25 states, most of them controlled by Republicans, already use the system to check their voter rolls.
Ceballos was brought to the United States from Mexico by his family when he was 4 years old. Holm said lawyers will next try to get an immigration judge to release him on bail.
Ceballos, 18, was encouraged to register to vote on the spot during a school field trip to the Comanche County Courthouse, he said. Ceballos previously told reporters that he voted Republican.
He was twice elected mayor of Coldwater, population 700, and served on the city council. Ceballos won a new term in November but resigned after state Attorney General Kris Kobach charged him with voting without qualification and election perjury.
However, Kobach’s office reached an agreement with Ceballos. He pleaded guilty to election disruption, which Holm described as a misdemeanor similar to disorderly conduct.
“He was not convicted of any form of voter fraud. This should not affect his immigration status,” Holm said. “The Trump administration and ICE have stepped up their campaign of nonsense about him being a criminal.”
Ceballos has been a popular figure in Coldwater and an ad in the Western Star encouraged people to support him.
“He had to live the American dream of going from nothing to building up — I don’t know wealth — but building a business, getting a job and being a productive part of society,” longtime friend Ryan Swayze told Wichita station KAKE-TV.
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