NEW: DOJ Announces Several Arrests In Noncitizen Voting Cases

On Sep 20, 2026

Federal prosecutors and Homeland Security Investigations have announced a number of noncitizen voting cases throughout the month of September, including arrests and criminal charges in Texas and several other states.

The cases involve people accused of registering or voting in federal elections while not U.S. citizens, or of making false citizenship statements on voter, naturalization, or identification forms.

On Friday, the Justice Department announced that it had charged 16 people in connection with illegal voting, illegal voter registration, and related offenses. The charges include unlawful voting by noncitizens in federal elections and false claims of citizenship.

Some cases also list related counts such as naturalization fraud, passport fraud, wire fraud, or firearm offenses discovered during the investigations. The defendants were charged in Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, and Michigan.

The largest number of arrests occurred in Texas. In the Northern District of Texas, U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould announced seven noncitizen cases on September 15. Six people were indicted on September 10 and a seventh was charged by complaint on September 11.

POLL: Should Ilhan Omar Be Deported If Found Guilty Of Immigration Fraud?

🚨 BREAKING: Fox exclusive. Federal agents just arrested SEVEN noncitizens in North Texas for illegally voting in federal elections.

One lawful permanent resident from Nigeria registered and cast a ballot in 2018, then denied voting or claiming citizenship on naturalization… pic.twitter.com/yVvY48nkFm

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) September 15, 2026

Agents arrested one defendant on September 11 and five on September 14. A seventh, Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, 36, a Mexican national previously ordered removed, surrendered on September 15. Six of the seven are lawful permanent residents, while Arellano-Alba has been described as unlawfully present in the United States.

Alleged conduct includes voting in 2018 or 2024, casting provisional ballots that were later rejected, or making false statements on registration or naturalization papers. Named defendants include Helen Sayen Adams, 67, of Nigeria; Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27, of Nigeria; Carlos Salas Barrios, 41, of Mexico; Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, 69, of India; Celestin Katubadi, 20, of the Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Rocio Thrasher, 38, of Mexico.

Other defendants in the September 18 announcement include Avila Gomez, a Mexican national charged in Idaho with voting in 2022 and 2024 and additional document and firearm counts; Pauline Lewis, 65, of Antigua and Barbuda, Gabriel Covarrubias, 44, of Mexico, and Analiea Milliscent Eccles, 44, a Venezuelan DACA recipient alleged to have voted multiple times from 2008 to 2024, all in Georgia; Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, a Nigerian lawful permanent resident charged in Massachusetts; Julieta Englestad, 53, a Colombian lawful permanent resident charged in Wisconsin; Santana Coulibaly, a lawful permanent resident arrested in New Jersey; and Victoria Viktorivna Aquilina, 43, a Russian national charged in Michigan.

In addition, DHS recently publicized two earlier September arrests. On September 3, HSI El Paso arrested Ludwig Uriel Espejo-Carrillo, a Mexican lawful permanent resident since 2013, and administratively charged him with unlawful voting and a false claim to citizenship tied to 2015 elections. The same day, ICE arrested Helda Araceli Mendez-Merida, a Guatemalan national with a 2019 removal order, in Indianapolis; DHS said she had voted in a prior national election.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Fox News that the department had 1,620 open cases involving alleged noncitizen voting, had made 151 arrests, and was reviewing about 300,000 additional possible matches generated by comparing state voter rolls with federal immigration records as of this report.