Non-Citizen Charged for Illegal Voting Activity

Federal prosecutors have charged a Honduran national in California with voter fraud due to allegations of registering to vote under an alias and casting votes illegally in several elections. According to reports, the individual obtained a voter registration card by using a gym membership, sparking debates about voter identification laws.

The case of Bahamian national Anthony Tyrone Higgs represents another significant instance of illegal voting activity. Higgs, who entered the U.S. during the Ford administration and lived with a green card, faced deportation proceedings after being found to have voted illegally in the 2020 election. Lauren Bis, a White House spokeswoman, described Higgs as forfeiting his right to remain in the U.S. due to violent crimes and illegal voting.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has arrested a Peruvian national accused of illegal voting in the 2024 election. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) confirmed Higgs’ illegal voting activity. He was taken into custody by ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division. Higgs received legal residency in 1976, but the Trump administration placed him in proceedings to revoke this status due to his criminal record, which includes serious felonies like armed robbery and assault on an officer.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that just one noncitizen voting undermines Americans’ votes. ICE agents are working diligently to ensure that such actions lead to arrests and removal from the country. Mullin commended ICE for their efforts in securing elections.

Other cases include Carlos Jaramillo-Grajales, a Colombian national sentenced to three years for identity theft to vote illegally for over two decades. A Slovakian national was also found guilty of illegal voting in New Jersey’s 2022 midterms. An Australian was charged with voting illegally in Louisiana in 2022 and 2024.

In Philadelphia, Mahady Sacko, a Mauritanian national, was charged with voter fraud after multiple illegal voting incidents since 2008. Despite an outstanding removal order, he remained in the U.S. until recent enforcement actions.