Last Thursday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged an illegal alien from Guatemala with illegally voting and obtaining two U.S. passports. Both charges stem from stealing the identity of a U.S. citizen over a decade ago.
U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Resident Agent in Charge Joseph R. Wysowaty of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service in Atlanta announced the nine count complaint. In it, the DOJ alleges that the defendant, Angelica Maria Francisco, first assumed the identity of a United States citizen in or around 2011. Francisco then used the false identity to obtain a U.S. passport in 2011 and used the passport to travel to and from Guatemala in 2012, 2015, and 2018. Not only that, Francisco also registered to vote in Alabama in 2016 and voted in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections. Then, in 2021, Francisco used the same false identity to apply for and receive a renewed passport, which she used to travel to and from Guatemala in 2022.
The State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service investigated the case, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the East Metro Area Crime Center, and the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office. According to their press release, Ms. Francisco will be scheduled to enter a guilty plea on nine counts.
Alabama’s Secretary of State, Wes Allen, praised the joint law enforcement effort. “I have been very clear that a top priority of this Office is ensuring only eligible American citizens are voting in Alabama elections,” he said in a statement. “I want to thank the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama for their diligent efforts investigating and charging this individual. We will continue to assist law enforcement in every way possible as they prosecute individuals who vote illegally in Alabama elections to the fullest extent of the law.”
The DOJ’s criminal complaint comes just a few days before the U.S. House of Representatives is set to take action on a bill to protect the integrity of U.S. elections. The House is expected to vote Tuesday on a short-term government funding bill that includes a measure to prevent illegal alien voting. The measure, called the SAVE Act, would implement several important reforms. First, it amends the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) to require documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. It also requires state elections officials to verify registrants’ citizenship using documents such as a U.S. passport, a birth certificate, or a REAL-ID compliant form of identification. Third, the SAVE Act requires states to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls and provides for states to utilize existing federal databases to verify citizenship status. Finally, the legislation creates a private right of action for citizens to bring civil suits against election officials who fail to uphold proof of citizenship requirements.
While the SAVE Act may not have helped in this specific instance, as the defendant was brazen enough to fraudulently obtain a U.S. passport, it will help prevent other situations where illegal aliens – sometimes unwittingly – register to vote. To read more about upcoming action in the House of Representatives, click here.
