Justice Dept. Charges 63 Foreign Nationals

The U.S. Department of Justice filed charges against 63 individuals on Monday, citing alleged electoral crimes including illegal voting and fraudulent voter registration. The group includes dozens of people of Latin American descent, along with nationals from Canada, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a written release that the announcement marks the largest increase in electoral fraud arrests since President Donald Trump resumed office. The department has charged 239 people with related offenses during the second term of the current administration.

In the last nine weeks, federal authorities have indicted 195 foreign nationals across 25 states for violations involving voting and registration. The specific charges include falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register or cast a ballot and submitting fraudulent registration requests in states where the individual did not reside.

Among those charged is Patricia Elena Valencia Cardona, a 56-year-old Colombian citizen and legal permanent resident. She faces two counts for falsely stating she was a U.S. citizen to vote and for voting while a foreign national. Cardona registered in North Carolina in 2024 and voted in that year's general election.

Yamila Avalos, an Argentine citizen and legal permanent resident, also faces a formal complaint in North Carolina for voting while a foreigner. Juan Florencio Ramos, a Cuban citizen and legal permanent resident, was indicted for knowingly making a false claim of citizenship to vote and for casting a ballot while a foreign national.

Three Mexican citizens and legal permanent residents face charges in Texas. Diego Benavides Rodriguez is 29, Jose Vasquez-Mendoza is 51, and Karen Hinojosa-Martinez is 37. In Tennessee, Mariela Elizabeth Avila Ortiz, a 33-year-old Honduran citizen and legal permanent resident, was accused of voting in the 2024 elections. Those contests included races for president, vice president, Senate, and the House of Representatives.

The administration has maintained a legal dispute with California regarding more than 20,000 mail-in ballots. The Justice Department argued these were sent to non-citizens, but the executive branch lost the case in at least four courts, including the Supreme Court.

Analysts have noted that non-citizen voting remains rare relative to the total electorate. A 2026 study by the conservative Heritage Foundation identified 23 cases of non-citizen voting between 2003 and 2022. The Brennan Center for Justice estimated that 0.0001 percent of 23.5 million votes in 42 surveyed jurisdictions in 2016 were potentially cast by non-citizens. Only two of those jurisdictions reported possible cases.