COLUMBUS, Ohio — Samuel Sey, 39, a conservative Christian writer and podcaster who has publicly defended US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was arrested by ICE at a Columbus airport on Wednesday, October 21, and has been held since then at Butler County Jail on an ICE hold, according to the Christian Post and Signal Ohio.
Source: The Christian Post
A spokesperson for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the Christian Post that ICE arrested Sey, whom the department described as a Ghanaian national, and said: "Sey entered the United States legally in 2022 but overstayed his length of admission by over four years, in violation of our nation's laws. Sey has no pending applications and accepted voluntary departure. He will remain in ICE custody until removed from the United States." The spokesperson added: "We do not pick and choose which laws to enforce or where to enforce them." Those statements are DHS's account of Sey's status.
Source: The Christian Post, quoting DHS
Signal Ohio, which also reported the DHS statement and jail records showing Sey held at Butler County Jail since October 21 on hold for ICE, noted that the exact nature of his detention was initially unclear in local reporting. Sey describes himself on his website as a Ghanaian-Canadian living in Ohio, and he moved from Toronto in part to live near his wife's father, Signal Ohio reported. He co-hosts "The Narrative" podcast published by the Center for Christian Virtue and writes the SlowToWrite blog.
Source: Signal Ohio
Supporters have described the case differently from DHS. Signal Ohio reported that Center for Christian Virtue director Aaron Baer called it a "paper work issue" in a social media post, and conservative media figure Joel Berry called it a "clerical issue." In February 2025, Sey himself wrote that he was "in the middle of his immigration process," which he expected to wrap up soon, Signal Ohio reported — a post he wrote while arguing that the administration's mass deportation agenda does not contradict Christian teachings.
Source: Signal Ohio
The case has drawn wide attention because Sey has for years argued in favour of strict immigration enforcement, including in essays for conservative and Christian outlets. DHS said the US government is offering people in the country without authorization $3,000 and a free flight to self-deport, and encouraged them to take the offer — it was not clear whether that offer formed part of Sey's voluntary departure, the Christian Post reported. No criminal charges against Sey were reported in the jail booking coverage.
Source: The Christian Post