The owner of a Texas restaurant group that celebrates President Donald Trump is facing immigration enforcement.
Trump Burger’s locations boast Trump-themed menu items, campaign decorations and burger buns stamped with “TRUMP.” The first location opened in 2020, founded by Roland Beainy, who moved to the U.S. from Lebanon the year before, according to Fox Business. It went viral earlier this year when its social media profiles were spammed with “chicken taco” comments, a nod to the “Trump Always Chickens Out” acronym created to describe his approach to tariffs.
Beainy and some of his restaurants are involved in lawsuits, according to local outlet The Fayette County Record. Court records for a lawsuit between the Trump Burger Kemah location and its landlord indicate Beainy was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement earlier this year.
Here is what we know:
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Did the owner of Trump Burger get deported?
ICE confirmed with USA TODAY that Beainy, 28, entered the country in 2019 as a non-immigrant visitor but stayed past his required departure date in February 2024. He was arrested May 16, 2025, and on June 13, an immigration judge approved his release on bond while he undergoes his proceedings.
Beainy declined to comment on this story.
Trump has long made immigration crackdowns a central part of his rhetoric. His administration has set out to deport 1 million people annually, far surpassing previous highs, especially considering encounters at the southern border have been at a historic low and deportation increases are coming from the interior. Still, the administration has pursued a number of controversial and legally contentious actions to achieve its goal.
An ICE spokesperson said the agency is committed to holding those who are violating immigration laws accountable, regardless of their business or political beliefs.
Trump Burger: photos, review and locations
Trump Burger has four locations in Texas, according to its website: Bay City, Bellville, Flatonia and Houston.
Local media outlets have visited the Trump Burger locations to provide insight into the menu and atmosphere.
“Every Trump Burger location tries to outdo itself in nationalist and personality cult aesthetics,” Brittany Britto Garley wrote in Eater Houston, adding there were better burgers to be had in Houston.
Bao Ong at the Houston Chronicle wrote, “most dishes are unremarkable and far from making the Chronicle’s best burgers guide.”
Both outlets reported that the restaurant chain has no official connection to the president.
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Was the Trump Burger owner deported? No, but ICE detained him in May