politics
Permanent Resident Detained at Detroit Airport After Admitting She Voted in Local Election
A 57-year-old permanent resident from Lawrence, Kansas, was held by customs officers in mid-March 2026 and threatened with deportation after she acknowledged voting once in a local election. An immigration judge later canceled her removal proceedings. ProPublica reported the case as an escalation in federal efforts to pursue noncitizen voting following a 2025 executive order.
May 13, 5:00 AM·2m read1 source
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Customs and Border Protection officers detained a 57-year-old permanent resident named Estelle for 30 hours at Detroit airport in mid-March 2026 after she acknowledged having voted in a local election. Estelle was held while on a layover traveling home from visiting her ailing father in France. Officers threatened her with deportation and placed her in removal proceedings.
A CBP spokesperson confirmed that officers detained a woman matching Estelle’s description at Detroit airport and placed her in removal proceedings. The spokesperson stated that voting illegally is a deportable offense. “The Trump Administration will continue to enforce our nation’s laws,” the spokesperson said in an email.
Estelle told customs officers she had voted once in a local election because a state motor vehicles department employee told her she was eligible when renewing her driver’s license. She insists she told the motor vehicles department employee that she was not a citizen. A customs officer asked Estelle if she had ever registered to vote or voted; she answered that she had voted once.
7, 2023 local election; she confirmed she had. Estelle registered to vote in September 2023 as part of renewing her driver’s license. Douglas County records showed she registered in September 2023 and was not affiliated with a political party.
She voted in the November 2023 election that included races for city council and school boards in Douglas County, Kansas. Estelle did not vote in any election after November 2023, including the 2024 presidential election. She was forced to spend the night in a holding cell on a concrete slab during her 30-hour detention at Detroit airport.
