ICE begins deportation process for former Kansas mayor who committed election crimes

Immigration and Customs Enforcement began deportation procedures against former Coldwater mayor Joe Ceballos. He was ordered to report to a Wichita ICE detention center on May 13, 2026. (City of Coldwater)

TOPEKA — The federal government began removal proceedings against a former Kansas mayor and permanent legal resident who hoped to avoid detention after pleading guilty to election crimes.

Joe Ceballos, a former Coldwater mayor, was notified at 10 a.m. Tuesday that he must report to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Wichita on Wednesday morning.

Ceballos is “terrified,” attorney Jess Hoeme said.

Ceballos pleaded guilty to three counts of disorderly election conduct in April. He received a $2,000 fine and suspended sentence and left the courtroom amid the applause of his friends and neighbors.

At the time, Hoeme said, his client was relieved and credited Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach for his willingness to consider the situation and Ceballos’ place in the community. In November, Kobach announced that Ceballos voted in an election in 2022 even though he wasn’t a U.S. citizen.

As the case progressed, Hoeme said Kobach “finally looked at the man instead of the politics of the situation” and agreed to the suspended sentence. Ceballos hoped the resolution would keep him from being deported, Hoeme said.

The notice to report to the detention center begins the removal proceedings, and Hoeme said he expects ICE to take Ceballos into custody immediately.

“You don’t know if you’re going to get a bond, and if you do get a bond hearing, is it going to be in 30 days or 60,” Hoeme said.

“It’s incredibly frustrating,” Hoeme said. “Now we are out of the courts. Now we are squarely within the administrative agencies, which is immigration, and their judges. Trump’s been removing judges that don’t toe the line.”

Hoeme, who said he is “pissed off,” compared the situation to 1935 Germany, during Nazi rule.

“It’s shocking for me because America has always been the place where you can make a life for yourself,” Hoeme said. “That’s what we’ve always stood for. If you work hard and you live well, you can prosper.”

Ceballos was brought to the United States when he was 4 years old, Hoeme said. He gave back to his community and made a good life, he said. Homeland Security points to a battery charge in 1995, which Hoeme said was the result of Ceballos’ wife cheating on him and Ceballos getting in a fistfight with the “new boyfriend.”

“Pretty damned American thing to do,” Hoeme said, with a short laugh, showing the only evidence of humor he found in the situation.

Hoeme isn’t an immigration attorney, and he said Ceballos is being represented by another attorney for that process.

“This is a travesty of justice,” Hoeme said. “The state was willing to take the full measure of this man — his commitment to his community and his love for this country — and resolve the matter in a way that was truly fair and just. It’s unconscionable that ICE isn’t willing to do the same.”

Hoeme said he has reached out multiple times to Kansas Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, and hasn’t received a call back from either one.

“You know, what always flabbergasted me about 1935 Germany is where were the other representatives of government?” Hoeme said. “In our particular case, it’s where is Moran and where is Roger Marshall? They’re just bootlickers because they like their jobs. They want to keep their jobs.”