The Department of Homeland Security is doubling down on the arrest of the man behind the infamous Donald Trump-themed burger restaurant, who now faces deportation, Chron reported Thursday.
Roland Mehrez Beainy, a 28-year-old Lebanese immigrant, opened the original Trump Burger in Bellville, Texas, in 2020 and has since expanded into a chain across the state. While the restaurants have no official connection to the president, Beainy said that he’d launched the business in support of Trump who he believed had greatly improved the economy during his first term—and even said that he hoped to collaborate with the president one day.
But in May, Beainy found himself on the wrong side of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown when he was arrested on allegations of immigration fraud. The Department of Homeland Security said they’d received evidence that the marriage through which he had applied for citizenship was a “sham designed to game the system.”
“This person has no Green Card, a history of illegal marriages, and an assault charge. DHS is actively pursuing all legal avenues to address this flagrant abuse of our immigration laws,” the agency said in a statement to Chron. In June, Beainy was granted his request for bond while he undergoes immigration proceedings.
Beainy told Chron that his attorney had advised him not to comment, but did say that “90 percent of the s—t they’re saying is not true.”
“Despite false claims to the contrary, Roland Mehrez Beainy does not have any immigration benefits that prevented his arrest or removal from the United States,” the DHS said in another statement to Chron on Thursday.
“Under the current administration, ICE is committed to restore integrity to our nation’s immigration system by holding all individuals accountable who illegally enter the country or overstay the terms of their admission. This is true regardless of what restaurant you own or political beliefs you might have.”
This isn’t the first time that Trump’s massive deportation scheme has swept up his own supporters, but that doesn’t always make them change their tune. After one mother was ripped away from her family, her husband actually blamed Biden for allowing open borders.
It’s not clear just how Beainy’s arrest will impact his devotion to Trump, or his restaurant chain—where the menu features an assortment of sandwiches stamped with a bolded “TRUMP” insignia, and staked with an American flag toothpick, as well as the Biden Burger, topped with “old tomato and our oldest buns unavailable due to cheating and inflation.”