Joseph Maldonado-Passage — better known to the world as “Joe Exotic” or the “Tiger King” — says he will keep fighting after federal authorities deported his husband, Jorge Maldonado (née Flores), without granting him a scheduled asylum hearing.
In an exclusive telephone interview with The Dallas Express from his federal prison cell on May 22, the 62-year-old reality star and convicted felon slammed the immigration system, detailed his ongoing legal battle, and pleaded for intervention from President Donald Trump.
“He was supposed to have a deportation and asylum hearing last Monday,” Exotic said. “I had the best immigration lawyers money could buy, ready to go to the hearing. But they picked him up at 7 o’clock in the morning on Friday, and they already had him in Mexico by noon Saturday. He didn’t even get a hearing.”
The deportation, confirmed by TMZ and reported by the New York Post, came after Exotic and Jorge were apparently legally married — remotely — while both were incarcerated in the Federal Medical Facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Under relaxed post-COVID rules, Exotic said inmates can wed without being physically present.
“Since COVID happened, you don’t even have to be present to be married anymore,” Exotic explained. “You can just have somebody stand in. So our lawyers stood in for us just to make it legal.”
Exotic said the marriage was critical to supporting Jorge’s asylum claim, which they hoped would allow him to remain in the U.S. legally. Instead, ICE abruptly deported him.“He was in America for 11 years,” Exotic said. “He’s not a drug dealer. He had no prior criminal history other than being a Mexican. He’s not a danger to American society.”
Exotic said Jorge was brutalized by the cartel immediately after returning to Mexico. The monarch of big cats indicated that Jorge was riding a bus when he and the other passengers were stopped, robbed, and beaten near Monterey. Exotic indicated that Jorge was “just bruised up” but that the incident has added to his sense of urgency to see his spouse returned to the United States.
Apparently, Jorge’s departure happened quickly. “We knew since we met each other that he was going to leave this prison on May 17,” Exotic said. “But 6:30 in the morning, the Friday they picked him up, we met and talked. I told him, ‘We may never see each other alive.’ I’m dealing with two types of cancer in here. I’m 62 years old.”
Exotic, currently serving a 21-year sentence for a murder-for-hire plot and wildlife violations, also vented about delays in his own legal appeal. “I’ve been waiting a year and three months for a motion for a new trial,” he said. “I’m stuck in the slow system.”
He said he’s hoping for relief under recent criminal justice reform laws — including the First Step Act and Second Chance Act — and believes newly uncovered evidence should warrant a new trial. Throughout the call, Exotic continued to lobby for presidential intervention through a pardon or clemency.
“President Trump, look, I’ve worked my entire life helping people and doing good,” Exotic said. “I made it all the way up until the day I was arrested to come here… I think I’ve lost enough.”
Cognizant that the legal status of his spouse could be bearing some weight on his case, he added, “Whether I’m married to a Mexican national should not matter — because I believe Melania was not a citizen until a year… after you guys got married.”
While it is true that Melania Trump was not a U.S. citizen until 2006, she entered the country legally through a tourist visa in 1996 and maintained lawful status by successfully applying for a variety of visas until she received her citizenship, the BBC reported.
He’s even willing to make a grand gesture if Trump helps him secure Jorge’s return. “When I get out of here, making money is not going to be a problem for me,” Exotic said. “I will give President Trump the first $5 million I make for Jorge to have a gold card — if that’s what he’s offering. That’s how much this means to me.”
The “gold card visa” is a $5 million visa created by the Trump Administration that will reportedly start accepting applicants next week.
In the meantime, Exotic said he’s struggling to maintain contact with his husband due to prison restrictions on calls and translation. “He calls a lot of his Mexican friends in here, and they tell me what’s going on,” Exotic said. “I email. But for me to call and have someone translate would be called ‘circumventing the phone system.’ So I’m waiting for approval.”
Despite these obstacles, Exotic said they remain committed to each other — and he’ll do whatever it takes. Until then, Joe Exotic remains behind bars, battling cancer, fighting for an appeal, and pleading for the return of the man he calls the love of his life.