A former Kansas mayor who pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally voted in U.S. elections has reportedly been detained, drawing an outcry from supporters.
Jose “Joe” Ceballos pleaded guilty in April to three counts of disorderly election conduct. The Department of Homeland Security said Ceballos voted multiple times in U.S. elections and affirmed he was a U.S. citizen.
Ceballos obtained a green card in 1990 and applied for U.S. citizenship in 2025. While holding a green card, he served as mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, a town of about 700 residents near the Oklahoma border.
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His attorney, Jess Hoeme, said Ceballos’ plea deal was favorable. Ceballos had been facing felony charges that, if he had been convicted, could have increased his chances of being deported to Mexico.
Hoeme noted that Ceballos never denied voting but claimed he did not intentionally break the law.
KSNW-TV reported that Ceballos was detained this week in Wichita, and his future status in the U.S. is uncertain.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ceballos told KSNW. “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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When he turned himself in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, numerous supporters gathered to urge his release.
The Trump administration has cited Ceballos’ case in support of an election bill that would require Americans to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Opponents say such a proposal would place an undue burden on some voters and have a chilling effect on participation.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has identified 24,000 cases of noncitizens on U.S. voting rolls, though it is unclear how many of them actually voted. There were more than 155 million total votes cast in the last presidential election.
Ceballos was reelected as mayor in 2025 but resigned one month after the November election, following the charges of illegal voting.
