"I always loved Trump, this is unfair": Republican mayor can't believe he's facing deportation after 50 years in US

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

https://wtfdetective.blog/republican-mayor-cant-believe-deportation-50/

Joe Ceballos — a longtime Republican and the mayor of the small Kansas town of Clearwater — is now confronting felony voter fraud charges and the possibility of being deported by the very presidential administration he supported.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach (R) announced the charges just one day after Ceballos won reelection in Clearwater, a community of 2,653 residents according to the 2020 Census. The case includes three counts of voting without being qualified and three felony counts of election perjury, which Kobach said could lead to a maximum sentence of 68 months in prison along with fines that may total as much as $200,000.

On top of the criminal case, the Department of Homeland Security has warned that it may begin deportation proceedings to send Ceballos back to Mexico — a country he has not lived in since early childhood.

A recent profile of Ceballos, published in The Wichita Eagle by Roy Wenzl, explained that the 54-year-old did not realize that his status as a Mexican immigrant made him ineligible to vote in any U.S. election, despite having been casting ballots since 1991. Ceballos also acknowledged that he “probably” voted for Kobach and former president Donald Trump several times because he automatically selects the candidates with an “R” beside their names.

Speaking to Wenzl about the charges, Ceballos admitted he was frightened.

“I haven’t seen Mexico since I was four,” Ceballos said. “I don’t speak Spanish anymore. If I get deported, it would wreck my life.”

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

1. Update

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/us/kansas-mayor-vote-immigration.html



When the charges were announced a few weeks before the hearing, the municipal politics of Coldwater suddenly became national news. Many conservatives from outside Comanche County framed the case as an example of rampant voter fraud. Before the first court hearing in December, the Trump administration drew attention to the case, pledging to seek Mr. Ceballos’s deportation if he were convicted.

“This alien committed a felony by voting in American elections,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a news release that included a photo of Mr. Ceballos and of his signature on a voter registration form.

Yet inside Coldwater — home to 700 people, zero stoplights and vanishingly few Democrats — the prosecution was widely seen as a personal attack on a pillar of the town. Most of them, Mr. Ceballos included, had voted for President Trump, and some said they supported his immigration policies. But they knew Joe, a fixture in Coldwater since he was a teenager. And they wanted the government to back off.

___

“I still strongly believe in Trump’s immigration laws about, ‘Let’s get the bad guys out of here.’ You know, they’re murderers, they killed people, they molested people, let’s get them out of here,” Mr. Ceballos said in an interview. “But I feel like I don’t fit that category. And I feel like that’s how they’re treating me.”

[mountain grammy]

12. The worst of the worst

Deport the whole town for electing a non citizen. 🙄

[sboatcar]

19. Anyone who's surprised by the policies of the Trump admin being nothing more than racist at this point needs to wake up

If you're brown, being a Trumper isn't going to save you much longer. Even the Latino ICE agents won't be safe much longer.

[travelingthrulife]

37. Welp. You own this Mr Ceballos. You said you automatically select the R after the name.

Perhaps you should have put more thought and effort into those votes. Idiot.

[CaptainTruth]

52. "they're murderers, they killed people, they molested people, let's get them out of here"

Yes, you've accurately described the Trump Regime, let's get them out of here.

[Zackzzzz]

67. You are sooooooo accurate.

Psychological Projection, Again.

[CaptainTruth]

80. Yes, every accusation is a confession.

[popsdenver]

99. to him I say

YOU F***ING GREW IT, YOU CHEW IT.....MUNCH MUNCH MUNCH....................

I read somewhere that Trump/Republicans got 46% of the Mexican/Latino vote.....I wondered WTF????????

[Seinan Sensei]

73. "Coldwater -- home to 700 people"

Wonder how many times Ceballos won by one vote?

[Stargleamer]

79. What an idiot--Republicans don't care, they think of anyone who came here "illegally" as a lawbreaker

Jeez, you just have to watch Fox News or listen to Noem

[Still Waters]

90. Mayor Joe, Trump & Co reduced you from a human being to just an alien

“This alien committed a felony by voting in American elections,” Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a news release that included a photo of Mr. Ceballos and of his signature on a voter registration form."

Why would anyone support that kind of dehumanization? Hopefully Mayor Joe can reflect on that from his new home.

[MagickMuffin]

97. Hey Joe, you ARE a criminal, you've been illegally voting for 3 decades

Yep, Joe you definitely fit in that category. You are an Illegal Voter we've been hearing so much about your party wants to make voting even more difficult. Thanks a lot, maga cheater.

[Blumancru]

2. '¡ El wompo el wompo!

[Captain Zero]

3. And he is a Republican mayor

He's been here this long and still not a citizen?

[intheflow]

16. He grew up going to Kansas schools,

was a life-long R, and he didn’t know he had to be a citizen to vote? Not exactly a testament to the strength of Kansas schools or the intellectual lives of Kansas Republicans.

[VMA131Marine]

76. Usually, minors become citizens when their parents do

His parents must never have applied for citizenship so he’s been in the U.S., probably legally, on a green card all this time. At some point, he must have realised that he was not a U.S. citizen so it’s difficult to understand how he ended up voting and even running for office along with not applying for citizenship.

I kind of feel bad for him having to go back to a country he’s never really known .

But, as they say, play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[Botany]

4. FAFO motherfucker. Ceballos, "If I get deported, it would wreck my life."

He has been voting since 1991, isn’t a LEGAL U.S. Citizen, not a registered voter,
was a mayor of town, and a Trump supporter?

[haele]

17. Oh, give him a break. You know what civics classes have been like

Since Reagan....
Reagan didn't believe in public education beyond the 3 R's - Racism, Readin', and 'rithmatic.

Man probably thought he was a US Citizen because he's been resident in that town, owned a local business and belonged to the right church for over ten, fifteen years, could probably pass for White and was a Republican.

The last two being part of the three primary requisites for being a citizen in Trumpland. The third and most important is being worth at least tens of millions of dollars, enough to purchase a lifetime oligarch visa.

[Botany]

32. Just 35 years of voting illegally.

[travelingthrulife]

39. Always Republicans committing voter fraud.

[FakeNoose]

45. But ... but .... everybody LIKES him in Coldwater Kansas

He's such a popular mayor!

If he'd gotten naturalized, none of this would have mattered. I kind of feel bad for the guy, he's just so stupid.
But how can anyone who votes for Chump be anything BUT stupid?

[BComplex]

56. True that, FakeNoose.

Nobody that voted for trump gives a shit about the United States enough to do their research.

[BlueKota]

96. But tsf administration wants people

to believe non-citizen immigrants only vote illegally for Democrats.

Wonder how many people without legal citizenship, like this guy, voted for tsf and Republicans?

Hypocrisy is synonymous with the Republicons.

[Jack Valentino]

110. How do you vote if you're not a registered voter ???

[Norrrm]

5. MAGA sanctuary city Coldwater, Kansas non-citizen mayor voted illegally. MAGA town supports him.

Apparently, it is no big deal to be an American in that Trump sanctuary town.

All those years and it was too much bother to become an American.

[Rebl2]

59. That's

what I don’t understand. Why didn’t he become an American citizen in all those years living here (in Clearwater, KS). There was a MO woman (from I believe Ireland) that had been here since she was eleven, now in her fifties, was stopped coming back into the US after being out of the country. She was held for I believe three or four months and then released. She had never become a citizen in all that time, and has had a green card. She has an American born husband and he was so upset, and oh they voted for trump both times and how could they do that to them. Well I guess they found out now didn’t they.

[Momma]

92. You are not required to become a U.S. citizen if you have a green card (Lawful Permanent Resident).

You can live and work permanently in the U.S., travel abroad, and renew your card every 10 years. My daughter-in-law has a green card and we can't see any reason for her to become a US citizen.

[Norrrm]

101. With Trump/Noem in power, will that green card keep her safe?

[sop]

6. "I haven't seen Mexico since I was four...I don't speak Spanish anymore....If I get deported, it would wreck my life."

Republicans understand the plight of others only when it happens to them.

[Bettie]

7. And yet.....

I suspect he cheers loudly about others being deported, just doesn't like it when it's him.

Almost as if he's a giant hypocrite.

[SCantiGOP]

57. As they say,

Karma is a bitch.

[Bettie]

66. Yes, yes she is

I wish I believed he'd learn something from this, but to be honest, he'll probably just add it to his list of personal grievances and think he is the only one who faced injustice.

[calimary]

42. Sad, isn't it.

[Ray Bruns]

44. Nope. Just funny.

[anamnua]

60. It is in a sense.

Like Boxer in Animal Farm.

[Ray Bruns]

43. Sounds like a you problem.

[Norbert]

8. A quote from the movie Animal House seems apropos

"Hey, you fucked up. You trusted us."

Maybe, if he has a few million to cover the check to Krasnov, everything will be fine.

[ColoringFool]

54. Greatest Lines Ever! 😄😄😄😄😄 🚘

[lonely bird]

9. So, it would wreck his life?

OK, howzabout we deport him to a sub-Saharan Africa nation like we just did a few other unfortunate people?

The guy doesn’t get it. For MAGA it isn’t about whether or not the person is a pillar of the community. It is about, first and foremost, not “replacing” white people.

[moonscape]

111. I dunno. Mexico

seems like an upgrade to me.

[alittlelark]

10. Joder y descubrirlo

Translation - FAFO

[sop]

14. "El que busca, encuentra" (He who searches, finds).

[markodochartaigh]

25. "Lo que buscas

te está buscando a ti."

What you're looking for is looking for you.

[sop]

40. Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi (1207-1273), 13th-century Persian poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic.

[Trueblue Texan]

11. Well, well, well...

A little bit of FAFO going on here, it looks like!

[Shellback Squid]

13. FAFO, sorry dude but:

[Coventina]

15. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

I love this for him!!

[WestMichRad]

18. Crocodile tears.

FAFO!

[live love laugh]

21. He's the sacrificial lamb for the SAVE Act.

[Prairie Gates]

22. I hope he's deported to South Sudan

[markodochartaigh]

23. So the criterion for whether one is deported or not should be

whether one supported the president who tried to destroy democracy?

[DFW]

91. Hardly. However.....

Some Schadenfreude at seeing this happen to someone who approved when it happened to others? I can’t bring myself to suppress that.

[twodogsbarking]

24. May I be the first to say, enjoy your trip and your new home.

[Just_Vote_Dem]

26. Yeah, he don't love you, dipshit n/t

[Linda ladeewolf]

27. Unrequited Love ❤️!

[Clouds Passing]

28. It's always the Republicans committing voter fraud

[FakeNoose]

47. The Kansas election boards apparently aren't checking for IDs either

Otherwise this guy would have been sent away from the polls. So whose fault is it, really?

[Clouds Passing]

49. KKK's fault, isn't he still the SOS?

[tanyev]

29. It's not fair! They were only supposed to go after Democrats!

[Historic NY]

30. WEll as you know everything Trump comes near dies......

its too late to ask Epstein.

[wolfie001]

31. Felonies and republicans are a marriage those 6 pieces of shit on the Supreme Court def. approve of

[Americanme]

33. Too bad, so sad.

https://postimg.cc/Tp2z95cj

[William Seger]

34. "They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people:"

Tough shit, doesn't matter. Too bad Ceballos didn't recognize that #rump is a turd.

[Bluestocking]

35. This is exactly the kind of person who should be prosecuted

He committed voter fraud and should be deported to El Salvador. He also committed crimes against humanity by voting for Trump

[Vinca]

36. OMG - you can't make this stuff up.

[Scalded Nun]

38. Boo, Fucking, Hoo

[Johonny]

41. Get that trash out of my country

ICE ICE baby

[WhiteCheek69]

46. In the words of my dear departed father

"Send the Beaner home!"

[FakeNoose]

50. He can self-deport to Mexico, if he chooses

Otherwise the DHS-ICE goons will probably send him somewhere like Cameroon or wherever they go next.

[samsingh]

48. he's the worst of the worst

supported the policy aimed at harming fellow immigrants - and he didn't care at all.

[Ol Janx Spirit]

51. THIS is how [REDACTED] stupid these people are....

Democrats have been fighting for YEARS to give people just like himself both protections and a pathway to citizenship, yet the "the candidates with an “R” beside their names" have fought tooth and nail to make sure they got neither.

Hey Joe, do you remember these at all--or did you just not care enough to educate yourself:

- 2013 Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act (S. 744): Passed the Senate with bipartisan support, this "Gang of 8" bill proposed a 13-year path to citizenship, but was blocked by House Republicans who refused to take up the bill.

- 2010 DREAM Act: Failed in the Senate, this bill would have provided a path to citizenship for young, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

- 2007 Comprehensive Immigration Reform Bill: A major compromise supported by President George W. Bush that failed to pass the Senate.

- 2021 U.S. Citizenship Act: Introduced in Congress, it aimed to create an earned, 8-year pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants but failed to gain necessary traction

And Joe, when you inevitably get some special carveout for being a life-long Republican suck-up, I hope you will think every damn day about the millions of people just like you that actually got deported and had THEIR lives wrecked.

[c-rational]

63. Great summary post. Thanks.

[ColoringFool]

53. Another Sunny Day In FAFOLAND! 🥳 👋

[sakabatou]

55. Om nom nom, went the leopard

[Seinan Sensei]

65. Leopard:

….=burp=

[Escape]

58. Amazing that Mister Ceballos doesn't see the hypocrisy...

of supporting the deportations of others while defending his own rights to live and vote in the US.

I spent the first third of my life out there. But now, with the exception of my oldest brother and his family, there is very little intelligent life in Comanche County, Kansas.

It's 85% Republican and racism and religious fanaticism are rampant.

[ybbor]

61. FAFO

Hmm

[Coldwater]

62. This is what the DHS was hoping for

any excuse to deport him, and he handed it to them on a silver platter

[Norrrm]

64. Deserves Got Nothing to Do with It

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vg6C_V4bWGI

[Buns_of_Fire]

68. It's an exclusive club and you ain't in it, Joe. Getting the picture? nt

[2naSalit]

69. ...

[Nittersing]

70. I just can't join the hate in this thread.

It all makes me unbelievably sad.

[mn9driver]

71. A 2024 illegal vote for Orange Julius.

Obviously the whole election must now be proclaimed a fake. Isn’t that how it goes in MAGA land?

[FakeNoose]

82. I hope they subpoena all the voting records from Kansas

Oh hell, why not get them from all the midwestern states? Let's do a complete recount. Anyone who can't produce a valid passport and birth certificate will have their vote disallowed.

We'll be able to prove to Chump that he LOST ... AGAIN!

[mercuryblues]

72. The... if they'll do it with you

They'll do it to you, newest club member

[republianmushroom]

74. Live and learn, dude.

[oasis]

75. "automatically selects candidates with an 'R'".

Appropriate for a (R)ejected (R)at (R)eturning back to Mexico.
Adios mofo.

[Totally Tunsie]

77. Thanks for the belly laugh!

[pandr32]

78. Deportations wreck lives.

Ceballos is finding out first hand what he has been supporting all along.

[Doodley]

81. To register to vote or run for office, you must sign that you are a citizen and include supporting information,

such as SSN that should be cross referenced for verification. So, how would he not know he was not eligible?

[FakeNoose]

83. Repukes never do background checks on their candidates

Why should Kansas be any different? They've gotten away with it for so many years and everybody is fine with it.

[ihaveaquestion]

84. Boo F*cking Hoo!!!!! Eat Shit MAGA Moron!!!!

Mexico is a nice country with public healthcare. It's not like you're going to a gulag like some others. All you have to do is learn Spanish. Sheesh!

[evolves]

85. Another unsuspecting face eaten

by the Leopards Eating Your Face party.

[swong19104]

86. Actual case

of voter fraud? From a Republican, obviously.

[hadEnuf]

87. Screw him.

He was told by half the nation what Trump was going to do, and it wasn't the "bad guys, rapists and murderers"' he was going after and building concentration camps for.

They. Are. Fascists. Get it now?

[SergeStorms]

88. OK everybody......1, 2, 3

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, poor baby.

Keep voting for anyone with a (R) after their name, moron.

[Jose Garcia]

89. He should be sent to prison and deported after serving his sentence

He can learn Spanish while in prison.

[Martin68]

93. I wonder if he's going to engage in any introspection regarding why he supported Trump. I doubt it.

MAGAs are absolutely unable to look inside themselves. Probably too dark in there.

[dobleremolque]

94. Nunca pense que los leopardos se comeran mi cara. n/t

[Buddyzbuddy]

95. I hope nobody helps that dirtbag.

[Zambero]

98. So Clearwater Joe believed his misplaced loyalty would serve him well?

Those who worship the devil should not be surprised when presented with a one-way ticket to hell.

[purr-rat beauty]

102. I just don't care

If they support the evil and are subjected to it, it's what they wanted

[Lemon Lyman]

103. -

[AllyCat]

104. Why do these people always think DHS meant somebody

That was not them?

[Aristus]

105. What a brain-dead hamhock.

If you ask me, loving Trump should come with its own penalty.

[OC375]

106. A felony is a felony

He’s had 50 years to sort it out, Boo Hoo…

[Kablooie]

107. They always think Trump respects people who love him.

In actuality he ridicules and despises them as weak and disposable.
He only deals with them if there is something for himself in it like their vote.

[Hassler]

108. The only thing from making Mayor Joe

Peak maga is if he also owned a farm and all his workers have disappeared so crops are rotting in the field.

[Aussie105]

109. Cognitive dissonance at work there.

How I see the world isn't really how it is, and it bites sometimes.