(NewsNation) — Just weeks after winning reelection, the mayor of a small Kansas town could soon be deported after being charged with voter fraud.
According to The Washington Post, Jose “Joe” Ceballos, 54, came to Coldwater, Kansas, from Mexico when he was a teenager and worked as a ranch hand. When he turned 18, a teacher at his high school took him to register for the draft and to vote.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security issued a statement saying Ceballos was granted a green card in 1990 and eventually applied for U.S. citizenship in February of 2025. The agency also released paperwork that they said shows Ceballos allegedly lied about being a U.S. citizen on voter registration forms and voted illegally numerous times in elections.
DHS also said he allegedly lied again while filling out his naturalization form and said he never claimed to be a U.S. citizen before applying for citizenship.
Just after Election Day, Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced that Ceballos was charged with three counts of voting without being qualified and three counts of election perjury. Kobach told NewsNation affiliate KSN that while Ceballos is a legal resident, he is not a citizen and therefore cannot vote.
“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,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.