Republican mayor risks being deported after attorney general discovers what he’s been doing since 1991

Jose Ceballos, the mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, is facing deportation after the Kansas attorney general filed charges against him. The charges claim he voted illegally in multiple elections. Ceballos is a registered Republican who has been mayor since 2021. He is accused of voting without being a U.S. citizen.

According to Newsweek, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that if Ceballos is convicted, he will be placed in removal proceedings. This case is causing major problems for the Republican Party. It involves two of the GOP’s top issues right now: strict immigration enforcement and voter fraud concerns.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach charged Ceballos with three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury. These charges are connected to elections held in November 2022, November 2023, and August 2024. If found guilty, Ceballos could face more than five years in prison and $200,000 in fines, plus deportation.

Ceballos voted Republican for decades without citizenship

Ceballos, who is originally from Mexico, has been a registered Republican since 2020. He told reporters that he probably voted for President Trump three times and always voted for Republicans. He admitted he has been voting in every election since 1991. This controversy comes as Trump abandoned Marjorie Taylor Greene on another major party issue.

Ceballos says he misunderstood his citizenship status. He received his green card in 1990 and thought his permanent residency automatically made him a citizen. However, DHS noted that while he applied for U.S. citizenship in February 2025, he had previously claimed to be a U.S. citizen on other official forms.

Attorney General Kobach made his position clear. “In Kansas, it is against the law to vote if you are not a U.S. citizen. We allege that Mr. Ceballos did it multiple times,” he said.

The DHS also responded strongly to the case. Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said: “This alien committed a felony by voting in American elections. If convicted, he will be placed in removal proceedings. President Trump and Secretary Noem gave states access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to ensure only Americans vote in American elections”. Meanwhile, NYC’s new mayor challenged Trump with a bold statement recently.

The Coldwater City Council is trying to keep city operations running normally. Council President Britt Lenertz told KAKE they will allow the legal process to take its course before making further comments. Ceballos’ next court date is scheduled for December 3.