Beloved former mayor in Kansas fears he might be deported over voting controversy

The beloved former mayor of a conservative Kansas town reported to a federal immigration office Wednesday, a possible step toward deportation, months after acknowledging he had voted in elections despite not being a U.S. citizen.

Joe Ceballos, 55, who was brought to the U.S. from Mexico by family when he was 4, is a legal permanent resident. While seeking citizenship in 2025, he admitted during an interview that he had voted, apparently not knowing his status does not allow it, his lawyer said.

The government's response to that interview, as well as the actions of Kansas authorities, landed Ceballos in court and on a path to possible deportation.

“Thinking what could happen — it's just kind of crazy,” Ceballos, the former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, told reporters outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Wichita.

“Obviously nervous. I don't know what's going to happen," he added. "I don't know where they're going to take me and what I can and can't do inside there.”

Supporters outside the building held signs that said, “We Support Mayor Joe” and “ICE Out.” A crowd yelled, “Let Joe go!” as he entered.

An email seeking comment from ICE was not immediately returned. The Department of Homeland Security recently referred to him derisively as an “alien from Mexico."

Ceballos' attorney, Jess Hoeme, believes authorities could immediately put him in custody.

“It's a travesty of justice what the government is doing to Joe Ceballos, who has spent his entire life making a good life for himself and his family and being a good proud American,” Hoeme told The Associated Press.

Hoeme said Ceballos, at age 18, was encouraged to register to vote on the spot during a school field trip to the Comanche County courthouse.

“Nobody ever told me that I couldn’t vote or register to vote,” Ceballos, who said he voted for President Donald Trump and other Republicans, recently told The New York Times. “And so, as a young man, yeah, I did it. I registered.”

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

Kobach's 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. The judge even applauded the agreement.

“It should not have impacted his immigration status,” Hoeme said. “The Trump administration and ICE have doubled down on nonsense that he is a criminal.”

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.

“He’s kind of got to live the American dream, to come from absolutely nothing and build up, I don’t know about wealth, but to build up a business and have a job and be a productive part of society,” longtime friend Ryan Swayze told Wichita station KAKE-TV.