Ex-Mayor’s ICE Detention Highlights Election Integrity Fight
Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, the former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, turned himself in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday after pleading guilty to illegally voting in multiple elections, according to Kansas officials and federal authorities. He was taken in at an ICE office in Wichita and later held at the Chase County detention facility while immigration proceedings continue.
Ceballos served two terms as mayor of the small Kansas town. Court records show he was granted lawful permanent resident status in 1990 through a green card. Records also show a prior 1995 battery conviction.
Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to three counts of disorderly conduct in a case handled by the Kansas Attorney General’s office. Reports say the case drew more attention after officials said Ceballos applied for U.S. citizenship in January and falsely claimed he had never represented himself as a U.S. citizen before.
From the detention facility, Ceballos said he did not know what would happen next.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Ceballos said at the facility. “I don’t know where they’re going to take me and what I can and can’t do inside there.”
FOX Kansas City reported that Ceballos said he believed having a green card meant he could legally vote in elections. He also said he thought the plea deal would settle the case and said he felt “misled” by the process. “Obviously, we’ll go through the process,” Ceballos said. “We’ll do what they want us to do and, you know, take one day at a time. Just do what they ask; that is my goal.”
The case has become part of a bigger fight over election security and whether states should do more to verify citizenship at the ballot box. Federal officials used the case to argue for tighter safeguards. In a statement to Fox News, Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis backed the SAVE America Act and said it would help protect elections.
“The SAVE program is a critical tool for state and local governments to safeguard the integrity of elections across the country,” Bis said.
“President Trump has been unequivocal: Nothing is more fundamental than the integrity and security of our elections. That’s why the Trump Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act — commonsense legislation that requires voters to present photo ID and implements other critical measures to protect federal elections from fraud. Our elections belong to American citizens, not foreign citizens.”
Republicans have pushed those arguments for years. They say voter ID and citizenship checks are basic guardrails, not a burden. Supporters of tougher rules argue that even one illegal vote chips away at trust in the system. Ceballos remains in ICE custody as officials continue processing his case.
Kansas mayor turned himself in to ICE after pleading guilty to voting multiple times claiming to be a US Citizen when he was not and claimed he never did that on his citizenship application. Felonies. https://t.co/QrlyIaSox9
— Chromedaffodils (@Chromedaffodils) May 16, 2026