{"id":5966,"date":"2026-05-13T20:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5966"},"modified":"2026-05-13T20:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T20:32:13","slug":"immigration-authorities-detain-former-kansas-mayor-who-fears-deportation-over-voting-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5966","title":{"rendered":"Immigration authorities detain former Kansas mayor who fears deportation over voting controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By ED WHITE<\/strong><\/p>\n

The former mayor of a conservative Kansas town was taken into custody by immigration authorities Wednesday, a possible step toward deportation, months after acknowledging he had voted in elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n

Read more Angels swept in Cleveland to cap another rough road trip<\/a><\/p>\n

Joe Ceballos, 55, who is a legal permanent U.S. resident, was detained during a meeting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Wichita, Kansas, his attorney, Jess Hoeme, said.<\/p>\n

Supporters outside the ICE building held signs that said, \u201cWe Support Mayor Joe\u201d and \u201cICE Out.\u201d The crowd yelled, \u201cLet Joe go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extraordinarily disappointed in my government,\u201d Hoeme told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Ceballos, the former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, was brought to the U.S. from Mexico by family when he was 4. While seeking citizenship in 2025, he admitted during an interview that he had voted \u2014 apparently not knowing his status as a legal resident does not allow it, Hoeme said.<\/p>\n

The government\u2019s response to that interview, as well as the actions of Kansas authorities, landed Ceballos in court and on a path to possible deportation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThinking what could happen \u2014 it\u2019s just kind of crazy,\u201d Ceballos told reporters before entering the ICE building. \u201cObviously nervous. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen. I don\u2019t know where they\u2019re going to take me and what I can and can\u2019t do inside there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

An email seeking comment from ICE was not immediately returned. The Department of Homeland Security recently referred to him derisively as an \u201calien from Mexico.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoeme said lawyers would next try to get an immigration judge to release Ceballos on bond.<\/p>\n

Read more San Clemente gastropub announces closing date after 12 years<\/a><\/p>\n

He said Ceballos, at age 18, was encouraged to register to vote on the spot during a school field trip to the Comanche County courthouse.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody ever told me that I couldn\u2019t vote or register to vote,\u201d Ceballos, who said he voted for President Donald Trump and other Republicans, recently told The New York Times. \u201cAnd so, as a young man, yeah, I did it. I registered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Ceballos was twice elected mayor of Coldwater, population 700, and also served on the city council. He won a new term in November but resigned after state Attorney General Kris Kobach charged him with voting without being qualified and election perjury, apparently the result of information from the citizenship interview last October.<\/p>\n

Kobach\u2019s office, however, reached a deal with Ceballos in April. He pleaded guilty to disorderly election conduct, a misdemeanor that is similar to disturbing the peace, Hoeme said. A judge even applauded the agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has not been convicted of any kind of voter fraud. It should not have impacted his immigration status,\u201d Hoeme said. \u201cThe Trump administration and ICE have doubled down on nonsense that he is a criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ceballos is admired in Coldwater. Residents filled the courtroom during a hearing and an advertisement in The Western Star newspaper encouraged people to support him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s kind of got to live the American dream, to come from absolutely nothing and build up \u2014 I don\u2019t know about wealth \u2014 but to build up a business and have a job and be a productive part of society,\u201d longtime friend Ryan Swayze told Wichita station KAKE-TV.<\/p>\n

Read more Rams to host Packers in NFL\u2019s first \u2018Thanksgiving Eve\u2019 game<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, is in the custody of federal immigration authorities, a possible step toward deportation. It comes months after Joe Ceballos acknowledged he voted in elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news"],"yoast_head":"\nImmigration authorities detain former Kansas mayor who fears deportation over voting controversy - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5966\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Immigration authorities detain former Kansas mayor who fears deportation over voting controversy - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, is in the custody of federal immigration authorities, a possible step toward deportation. 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