According to reports, Tiger King star Joe Exotic’s newlywed husband, Jorge Flores Maldonado, has been deported to Mexico by ICE just hours after appearing in an immigration hearing.
Maldonado, who was already serving time for immigration-related offenses, was released from federal prison and immediately transferred to an immigration detention center before being sent back across the border.
The couple tied the knot behind bars only a few weeks ago at a federal lockup in Texas. Exotic, 63, is currently in the middle of a 21-year bid for his infamous plot to kill longtime rival Carole Baskin.
Maldonado, a Mexican national, was busted for allegedly driving a vehicle carrying six undocumented migrants across the border.
Now, Joe is publicly pleading with former President Donald Trump and his allies to intervene. He shared a photo of himself and Maldonado on Instagram with the caption: “They have officially taken him to an ICE detention center for his hearing to either stay in America or go back to Mexico.”
This isn’t the first time Exotic has addressed their legal battle online. In October, after announcing their engagement, he told followers he was working on getting Maldonado asylum, or they’d leave the U.S. together once he was released.
In a recent IG post, Joe even showed off an abstract drawing left behind by his husband, captioning it: “Guys!! I forgot to show you what Jorge left me to remember him.”
ICE has yet to comment on the deportation.