The Justice Department charged 48 foreign nationals with illegally voting in U.S. elections or registering to cast ballots. The accused are in Nevada, Pennsylvania, California, Florida and New York. All but one are lawful permanent residents, the Justice Department said.
The one illegal immigrant charged is Alfredo Santiesteban, a 73-year-old Cuban national who allegedly cast a ballot in the 2024 general election. Several defendants also allegedly registered to vote and later made false statements under oath on citizenship applications when asked whether they had ever claimed to be U.S. citizens.
In California, Omar Alexander Muñoz, a 72-year-old lawful permanent resident from Belize, allegedly registered to vote in September 2019 while claiming to be an American citizen. He allegedly voted in 2020, twice in 2022 and again in 2024, then allegedly lied on his naturalization application. Maricela Nazarín González, a 43-year-old lawful permanent resident from Mexico, allegedly registered to vote in 2020 and voted in 2022, twice in 2024 and in 2025.
In New York, Eoin Cranney, a 35-year-old lawful permanent resident born in Ireland, allegedly submitted a fraudulent voter registration application and voted in the 2024 federal general election. The Justice Department said he admitted to federal agents “in substance and in part” that he was not a citizen, registered in 2024 and voted knowing he lacked citizenship. Maribel del Carmen Garcés Barriga, a 62-year-old lawful permanent resident from Ecuador, allegedly registered and voted in 2024, then falsely stated on a citizenship application that she had never voted or registered.
The charges come as the Trump administration has increased federal election-integrity actions ahead of the midterm elections. The Justice Department also sued California earlier this month to stop the state from counting mail-in ballots from people the federal government identifies as likely noncitizens until their citizenship can be verified. The federal government gave Los Angeles County officials a list of alleged noncitizens who were sent mail-in ballots for the November 3 election and gave California officials 48 hours to respond. California officials refused to access the list, which was on a password-protected thumb drive.
Only citizens may vote in federal elections. When voter rolls include people who are not eligible, every lawful voter has reason to question whether the rules are being enforced. The next test is whether states and federal officials verify eligibility before ballots are counted, not after public trust has already been damaged.
