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ICE Arrests Samuel Sey at Columbus Airport, Faces Deportation

By Drooid · Oct 29, 2026 · How we work

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Summary

U.S. immigration authorities arrested Samuel Sey, a Ghanaian-Canadian Christian commentator, at Columbus airport on Oct. 21.
He is detained in Butler County Jail under an ICE detention hold.
DHS says Sey entered legally in 2022, overstayed four years, has no pending applications, and previously advocated mass deportations.
His U.S. citizen wife and three U.S.-born children remain in Ohio as he faces deportation.
Allie Beth Stuckey, Megan Basham and Joel Berry raised over $30,000 on GiveSendGo for his legal costs.

Summary

Samuel Sey, 39, posted that “If you love America, you should support ICE,” framing enforcement as patriotic.
Sey claimed God opposes anti-ICE protestors, calling them “influenced by Satan” on social media.
After the January killing of Minnesota mother Renee Good, Sey asserted she tried to run over ICE agents despite video.
Although pro-ICE, Sey said President Donald Trump’s abortion stance is better than Kamala Harris’s.

History

The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, dramatically expanded ICE authority and deportation mandates. ICE’s annual budget rose to $8.5 billion by 2020, and apprehensions surged to 400,000 individuals that year, a 30 percent increase from 2019. Samuel Sey’s 2024 arrest at Columbus Airport mirrors the post-IIRIRA crackdown, as his pro-ICE advocacy and fundraising via GiveSendGo echo the law’s punitive emphasis. The precedent set by the 1996 act fuels ongoing legal battles, prompting policymakers to reassess immigration enforcement amid polarized commentary from Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

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The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, dramatically expanded ICE authority and deportation mandates. ICE’s annual budget rose to $8.5 billion by 2020, and apprehensions surged to 400,000 individuals that year, a 30 percent increase from 2019. Samuel Sey’s 2024 arrest at Columbus Airport mirrors the post-IIRIRA crackdown, as his pro-ICE advocacy and fundraising via GiveSendGo echo the law’s punitive emphasis. The precedent set by the 1996 act fuels ongoing legal battles, prompting policymakers to reassess immigration enforcement amid polarized commentary from Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

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