Canadian who allegedly hit pro-Trump teen overstayed her U.S. visa. Husband says incident 'blown out of proportion'

Canadian woman, Kaitlyn Tracey, has been taken into custody by ICE for outstaying the Visa she used to enter the U.S.

ICE wrote in a July 15 X post that Tracey “ entered the United States on April 14, 2024, on a visa set to expire on September 6, 2024. In violation of our nation’s laws, she overstayed her visa and failed to depart.”

Tracey was released from a New Jersey jail into ICE custody after she was arrested and charged for allegedly slapping a teen Trump supporter on the Jersey Shore during the July 4th weekend, reports the New York Post .

Her husband, Matthew Geroni, is insisting the incident has been exaggerated. Geroni told New Jersey news website, NJ.com, that the “whole situation has been blown out of proportion and a person like Kate does not belong in any facility.”

But according to a Point Pleasant Beach police affidavit, Tracey filmed herself as she approached teenagers on a Point Pleasant Beach boardwalk in New Jersey on July 3. Two of the girls were allegedly wearing sweatpants with the words “Trump” and “ICE,” NJ.com reported.

The police have alleged Tracey slapped one of the girls across the face before fleeing the scene. Geroni counters that, despite admitting not to being there, with the claim it was his wife who was shoved and hit and insists she was not the one doing the recording, and never fled from the police, says the NY Post.

Kaitlyn Tracey is a criminal illegal alien from Canada who was charged with simple assault, neglect of a child, compounding crime, and harassing communication. She allegedly struck a teenage girl wearing pro-Trump memorabilia on a boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach during 4th of… https://t.co/NETqKKwrE8 pic.twitter.com/ER7qO3z3Zo

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) July 15, 2026

As previously reported by National Post , a Point Beach Police Department news release states that “officers responded to and began investigating an alleged assault of a female juvenile by an adult female suspect on the boardwalk.”

It continues: “The female suspect began yelling at the female juvenile over patriotic colored sweatpants with political wording. The female suspect was then seen on video striking the juvenile female, once to the body and once to the face, with an open hand. The female suspect then left the scene without being identified.”

Police said they later identified her as Kaitlyn Tracey of Allenhurst, N.J., and charged her with simple assault, endangering the welfare of a child, harassment and obstruction. No injuries were reported.

Canadian woman slaps teen over Trump clothing on Jersey Shore boardwalk; now charged and in ICE custody https://t.co/dozeU9dsEE pic.twitter.com/vfO8ReidMd

— New York Post (@nypost) July 15, 2026

Geroni took to TikTok and begged for help. In a video posted Tuesday he says: “I need an immigration lawyer, I need help. I don’t know what to do. I don’t have any money. I’m so fucking broke. But I got to figure something out. I got to save her.” (The account is now private.)

He continued: “My wife is a Canadian citizen and I’m an American citizen,” he adds. “We’ve been married for a little over three years, and I’m just doing anything I can to get her story heard and bring any help and attention to her situation so that I can get her released, even if that means back to Canada.”

Criminal defence lawyer, Francis R. Hodgson, told Asbury Park Press after a court hearing on Monday that Tracey was ordered released from Ocean County Jail, but she was taken into ICE custody.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 4.

• Canadian who allegedly slapped a girl in 'Trump' sweatpants now in ICE custody, reports say

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