The Department of Homeland Security has told Religion News Service that Christian blogger and podcaster Samuel Sey will be deported, a new development in a case that has drawn wide attention in Christian circles since his arrest last week.

According to the department, Sey has no pending applications and has accepted voluntary departure, and he will remain in immigration custody until he is removed from the United States. Sey, 39, was arrested at Columbus International Airport in Ohio on Wednesday, October 21, and is being held at the Butler County Jail in Hamilton, Ohio.

The department claims Sey, who was born in Ghana and grew up in Canada, entered the country in 2022 and overstayed by four years. In its statement to Religion News Service, the department said it does not pick and choose which laws to enforce. Those immigration claims have not been independently established in the report, and Sey's supporters dispute the account.

Supporters say a clerical error led to the arrest and hope he will soon be released. Joel Berry, who set up a GiveSendGo page for Sey's family that has raised more than $22,000, said Sey's wife is working to secure his release on bail so he can fix any clerical issues affecting his legal residence.

The case has drawn notice in part because of Sey's own past public support for immigration enforcement. In January, he wrote on X, "If you love America you should support ICE." After news of his arrest broke, well-known Christian voices including Allie Beth Stuckey, Megan Basham, and Joel Berry posted support for him online. Stuckey asked for prayer for Sey's wife, who is at home with their three young children, and for wisdom and provision for the family.

Berry said he loves Sey and will do everything he can to help him, while also saying he stands behind immigration enforcement and believes Sey does too. Religion News Service reported that it received no immediate response to an email sent to Sey's website requesting comment.

Sey is known for his writings on theology, his anti-abortion views, and his criticism of diversity programs and what he calls "woke" ideas. His website describes his aim as addressing racial, cultural, and political issues with biblical theology and being "quick to listen and slow to speak," a phrase drawn from the New Testament book of James. He also co-hosts "The Narrative with Aaron Baer," a podcast aimed at helping Christians think critically and faithfully about pressing issues; co-host Aaron Baer said Basham would sit in for Sey on the upcoming episode.

In recent months, Sey has also clashed publicly with a group of pastors who promote antisemitic and pro-segregation views, debating pastor Dale Partridge over the so-called Curse of Ham, a theological idea once used to justify segregation. Sey has called such ideas unChristian and dangerous. After news of his arrest broke, Partridge said on social media that he hoped "justice is served" and criticized those defending Sey.

The department also repeated its offer of $3,000 and a free flight out of the country to people without legal status, urging them to leave voluntarily and preserve a chance to return legally, and warning that otherwise they will be arrested and deported without a chance to return. No criminal charge is cited in the Religion News Service report; the department's stated basis for holding Sey is its immigration claim, which his supporters continue to dispute as a paperwork mistake.