Overview
- Ceballos was taken into custody during a meeting at an ICE office in Wichita, according to his attorney, as supporters rallied outside with signs urging his release.
- He pleaded guilty in April to three misdemeanors for voting as a noncitizen under a deal that reduced earlier felony counts brought by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach.
- The legal trouble began after a 2025 citizenship interview in which he acknowledged he had voted, which can trigger immigration consequences under federal law.
- Ceballos, a 55-year-old legal permanent resident brought to the U.S. from Mexico at age 4, resigned as Coldwater’s mayor after the charges and now faces possible deportation while his lawyer seeks bond before an immigration judge.
- The Department of Homeland Security has spotlighted noncitizen voting while promoting stricter verification checks, and in recent communications referred to him as an “alien from Mexico,” drawing wider attention to the case.