Exposed: Undocumented Immigrants Cast Ballots in US Elections, Using Fake Passports to Freely Travel Abroad
Undocumented Immigrant Pleads Guilty to Voter Fraud and Identity Theft
<a href="https://c3.nychinaren.com/components/comforum/files/thumbs2/5992_17259903295992.png”>Image: Screenshot of news report
Angelica Maria Francisco, a 42-year-old undocumented immigrant, has reached a plea deal with the Justice Department, admitting to using a stolen U.S. citizenship to vote in multiple elections and fraudulently obtaining a U.S. passport.
Charges and Plea Agreement
Francisco faces nine charges filed in federal court, including falsely claiming to be a citizen when voting, making false statements when applying for a U.S. passport, and aggravated identity theft. According to the plea agreement, Francisco has agreed to plead guilty to all nine counts.
Details of the Case
It is reported that Francisco pretended to be a U.S. citizen since around 2011, using a fake identity to obtain a U.S. passport in 2011. She used the passport to travel to and from her native Guatemala in 2012, 2015, and 2018. Francisco is also accused of using the same identity to register to vote in Alabama in the primary and general elections in 2016 and 2020. In 2021, she allegedly used the same fake identity to apply for and obtain a renewed passport, which she used to travel to and from Guatemala in 2022.
Alabama Secretary of State Responds
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen emphasized that his office’s top priority is to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens can participate in Alabama’s elections. He thanked the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama for their efforts in investigating and prosecuting this case. Allen pledged to continue to support law enforcement agencies in prosecuting individuals who illegally voted in Alabama’s elections.
Election Integrity Concerns
Allen, a Republican who has made election integrity a top priority, previously warned about Executive Order 14019, which requires state agencies that receive federal funds to send voter registration information to anyone who comes into contact with those agencies, without requiring any citizenship verification. Republicans believe that this order’s broad interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 is essentially mobilizing federal government agencies to become voter registration agencies.
Legislative Efforts
At the Republican National Convention in July, Allen discussed with House Speaker Mike Johnson a piece of legislation called the Protecting American Voter Qualifications Act (SAVE Act). This act would require states to verify citizenship when registering individuals to vote and would require states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls.