# ICE arrests pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey

> Pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey detained by ICE sparks MAGA backlash.
- Title: ICE arrests pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey · Salon
- Summary: 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…
- Keywords: ice, maga, samanthas, samuel sey, pro-trump, evangelical, immigration, deportation, border, conservative, christian, arrests
- Source: Salon — https://salon.com/2026/10/29/the-ice-arrest-of-a-pro-trump-evangelical-has-maga-in-an-uproar
- Author: Sophia Tesfaye
- Published: 2026-10-29T10:30:47+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ice, maga, samanthas, samuel sey, pro-trump, evangelical, immigration, deportation, us, border, conservative, christian
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Pro-Trump evangelical Samuel Sey was arrested by ICE for overstaying his legal status, causing internal conflict within the MAGA movement over immigration policies.