From Salon · Sophia Tesfaye · · 1m 50s
ICE arrests pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey
Pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey detained by ICE sparks MAGA backlash.
In brief
Pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey detained by ICE sparks MAGA backlash. Pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey was arrested by ICE for overstaying his legal status, causing internal conflict within the MAGA movement over immigration policies. Originally reported by Salon.
Samuel Sey's background
Samuel Sey spent two years telling American Christians that the Bible demands what Immigration and Customs Enforcement does.
Sey's immigration stance
He argued immigration was a privilege not a right and america doesn't owe anything to people born outside the country.
Sey's arrest
ICE arrested Sey at Columbus airport on October 21, 2026, holding him in Butler County Jail.
Sey's legal status
The Department of Homeland Security says he entered legally in 2022 but overstayed by more than four years.
Sey's family situation
Sey's wife and three children were born in the U.S., but he claims he has spent years working with a lawyer to secure permanent status.
MAGA backlash
MAGA influencers like Joel Berry and Allie Beth Stuckey rallied to support Sey, raising over $30,000 for legal fees.
Sey's supporters
Some MAGA figures called Sey an 'illegal alien wrongfully in our country' who lectures Americans about their heritage.
Sey's critics
Evangelical pastor Dale Partridge called Sey a 'black migrant who slanders christian nationalists' and a 'white evangelicals’ ultimate hero'.
Internal conflict
The MAGA movement is torn between those who see Sey as a brother and those who view him as a Black immigrant whose usefulness expired.
Sey's theological stance
Sey believed Christian ethics demand deportations and that america doesn't owe anything to people born outside the country.
Sey's realization
Sey learned that feeding xenophobic systems can eventually turn on you, as his own deportation was the consequence.
At a glance
Pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey was arrested by ICE for overstaying his legal status, causing internal conflict within the MAGA movement over immigration policies.
