Ex-Kansas Mayor Who Voted Illegally as Green Card Holder Turns Self In to ICE

The former mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, who pleaded guilty last month to illegal voting in several elections, turned himself in to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday.

Jose Ceballos-Armendariz, a Mexican green card holder, appeared at the ICE office in Wichita, FOX4KC reported. He is being held at the ICE detention facility in Chase County.

"I don’t know what’s going to happen," Ceballos said outside the facility. "I don’t know where they’re going to take me and what I can and can’t do inside there."

Fox News Digital has reached out to Ceballos’ attorney for comment.

Ceballos served two terms as mayor of Coldwater. He pleaded guilty in April to three counts of disorderly election conduct after a prosecution by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office.

He received a green card in 1990 and applied for U.S. citizenship in February. Ceballos has a prior 1995 conviction for battery.

On his citizenship application, Ceballos falsely claimed he had never previously said he was a U.S. citizen. He told FOXKC he thought his green card and legal permanent residency allowed him to vote in U.S. elections. He said he felt misled because he believed his plea deal would resolve his situation.

"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."

DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis, in a statement to Fox News Digital, advocated for the SAVE America Act, which requires documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register for federal elections.

"The SAVE program is a critical tool for state and local governments to safeguard the integrity of elections across the country," she 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."

DHS said the SAVE program has identified more than 24,000 potential non-U.S. citizens on voter rolls since April 2025. Those cases were referred to ICE's Homeland Security Investigations for further review.

Ceballos’ attorney, Jess Hoeme, told the news outlet that his client came to the United States from Mexico at age 4. He said Ceballos was encouraged to register to vote at age 18 during a school field trip to the Comanche County courthouse.

"I thought our system was smarter and better than this," Hoeme said. "I thought there was a degree of humanity and dignity included in the process. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore."