(RNS) — A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said conservative Christian blogger and podcaster Samuel Sey will be deported. But Sey’s supporters say a clerical error led to the arrest and hope he will soon be released.
Samuel Sey speaks about immigration in a video posted in April 2026. (Video screen grab)
Sey, who lives in Ohio, was arrested at the Columbus International Airport on Wednesday, October 21, and is being held at the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio.
“Sey has no pending applications and accepted voluntary departure,” DHS told RNS in an email. “He will remain in ICE custody until removed from the United States.”
DHS claimed the 39-year-old Sey, who is originally from Ghana but grew up in Canada, entered the country in 2022 but overstayed by four years. “We do not pick and choose which laws to enforce or where to enforce them,” the DHS spokesperson said.
Sey’s arrest made headlines in part because of his past pro-ICE comments on social media. “If you love America you should support ICE,” he wrote on X in January. A series of well-known conservative influencers, including Allie Beth Stuckey, Megan Basham, and Joel Berry, all posted support for Sey on social media after news of his arrest became public.
“Samuel Sey is a good man,” wrote Stuckey on X. “As you can imagine, his wife, who’s at home with their 3 babies, is devastated and also trusting the Lord to help them find a resolution quickly. Please pray for all of the Seys. Pray for wisdom and provision.”
Annie and Samuel Sey. (Photo via GiveSendGo)
A GiveSendGo crowdfunding page for Sey’s family has raised more than $22,000. “His wife is working to get him released on bail so he can fix any clerical issues that need to be addressed for his legal residence,” according to the page.
Berry, who set up the crowdfunding page, said on social media that Sey’s situation was a “clerical mistake” and asked supporters to pray for his family.
“I love Samuel Sey and will do everything to help him,” Berry wrote on X. “I also stand behind ICE and the very difficult job they have in protecting our country. I know Samuel does too.”
There was no immediate response to an email to Sey’s website, requesting comment.
On Monday (Oct. 26), Berry posted a statement from Sey’s wife, Annie on X, saying that Sey entered the country legally and has been working on getting permanent legal status.
“Our family is trying to understand what went wrong in the process,” she said in the statement. “In the spirit of Romans 13, our family fully supports and respects American law and are prayerfully working to get him home through the legal process.”
Sey is known for his writings on theology, his anti-abortion views, and his criticism of DEI and other “woke” ideas. “I am committed to addressing racial, cultural, and political issues with biblical theology and an attempt to be quick to listen and slow to speak,” his website reads. The “slow to speak” phrase is a reference to a verse in the New Testament book of James.
Sey is also a co-host of “The Narrative with Aaron Baer,” a conservative podcast aimed at helping Christians “think critically and faithfully about the most pressing issues of our day.” Baer said on X that Megan Basham would be sitting in for Sey on the upcoming podcast.
In recent months, Sey has clashed with a group of conservative pastors who promote antisemitic and pro-segregation views. Dale Partridge, one of those pastors, debated Sey recently over the so-called Curse of Ham, a theological view used in the past to justify segregation. Sey told RNS earlier this year that he found such ideas unChristian and dangerous. “You can’t keep saying all these things, and therefore there not to be a violent consequence at some point,” he said.
After news of Sey’s arrest broke, Partridge said on social media that he hoped “justice is served.”
“I’m learning that a black migrant who slanders Christian Nationalists is the White evangelicals’ ultimate hero,” he wrote in criticizing those defending Sey.
In an email to RNS, the DHS spokesperson repeated the department’s offer to give $3,000 and a free flight out of the country to those without legal status in the United States.
“We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right, legal way to live the American dream,” they wrote. “If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return.”
