U.S. Justice Department charges 28 green card holders without voting rights in California with election crimes
WASHINGTON
The U.S. Justice Department has charged 28 lawful permanent residents living in California, who do not have the right to vote, with election crimes. The department announced on Oct. 19 (local time) that federal investigators had arrested 11 foreign nationals across California and that 28 people, including those 11, had been charged by criminal complaint. The charges include voter registration fraud, false statements on naturalization applications and voting by noncitizens. All 28 defendants are on a list of more than 20,000 "registered voters suspected to be noncitizens" that the federal government handed to the state of California on Oct. 13. California refused a federal request to review the list, and the Justice Department sued the state in federal court on Oct. 15. The charges came about two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Four California U.S. Attorney's offices arrest 11 under "Operation Protect the Vote"
The Justice Department said the arrests were part of "Operation Protect the Vote." The four U.S. Attorney's offices in California, for the Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern districts, are jointly taking part in the operation, working to root out fraud in U.S. elections and protect election integrity.
THIS MORNING IN CA: Acting Deputy Attorney General @PADAGMcCotter announces charges against 28 Foreign Nationals in California for election crimes.
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) October 19, 2026
"Today's charges demonstrate why that lawsuit [against CA over its voter rolls] is so important. The lawsuit is about preventing… pic.twitter.com/d0oIJ4sRFb
By district, 13 people were charged in the Central District, six in the Eastern, five in the Northern and four in the Southern. The defendants were scheduled to make their initial appearances in federal court that day.
All 28 defendants are lawful permanent residents (LPRs), so-called "green card holders." The Justice Department said, "Although LPRs have legal immigration status in the United States, they are not U.S. citizens and are not permitted to vote in U.S. elections," adding that most of them actually voted using ballots obtained through fraudulent registration.
The 28 defendants come from 14 countries, and some voted multiple times
The defendants are nationals of 14 countries. Mexico accounts for the most, with nine, followed by Guatemala and the Philippines with three each and India and Canada with two each. El Salvador, Belize, Cambodia, Honduras, Pakistan, Georgia, Myanmar, Tonga and Ecuador account for one each. They range in age from 30 to 72.
The oldest defendant in the Central District cases is Omar Alexander Muñoz, 72, of Commerce, a native of Belize. According to the Justice Department, Muñoz registered to vote in 2019 and then voted in the 2020 and 2024 elections and twice in 2022, and he is also accused of making false statements on naturalization documents. Butleng Taing, 43, of Long Beach, a native of Cambodia, is accused of registering in July 2021, voting in 2022 and 2024, and submitting false naturalization documents in August 2025. Ernest Gutiérrez Ruvalcaba, 57, of Wilmington, a native of Mexico, registered in February 2024 and voted a month later.
Many of the defendants charged by the Eastern District voted more than once. Maricela Nazarín González, 43, of Clovis, a native of Mexico, registered in 2020 by claiming to be a citizen and then voted in 2022 and 2025 and twice in 2024. Camino Giles Jiménez, 51, of Kerman, a native of Mexico, voted in three elections, most recently in the primary in June of this year. Juan Antonio Rivas García, 46, of Sacramento, a native of Mexico, registered in 2018 and 2020 by swearing that he was a citizen, and voted in 2022 and 2024. Kamlesh Navnitlal Shah, 67, a native of India, and Giezell Viduya Adawag, 41, a native of the Philippines, are accused of registering on the day of the November 2024 presidential election and voting immediately.
All four defendants charged by the Southern District are accused of registering to vote and voting in the November 2024 presidential election, and three of them are alleged to have registered by falsely claiming to be citizens. They also face charges of making false statements in naturalization interviews or on naturalization applications. All five defendants charged by the Northern District likewise registered between 2022 and 2024 and then voted, and are accused of making false statements during the naturalization process or attempting to obtain naturalization unlawfully.
False statements on naturalization papers and voter registration fraud carry up to five years in prison
All 13 Central District defendants face felony charges. The naturalization-related false statement and false claim of citizenship charges brought by the Northern and Southern districts are also felonies, and the Northern District cases also include a misdemeanor charge of voting by an alien. False statements on naturalization documents and voter registration fraud each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The Eastern District charged its six defendants with voting by an alien, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. Among the Eastern District cases, the case against Shah was brought not by complaint but by information, a charging document filed by a prosecutor without going through a grand jury.
Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections. Section 611 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code makes it a crime for an alien to vote in an election for president, vice president or members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Section 1015(f) of the same title punishes falsely claiming U.S. citizenship in order to vote or register to vote.
The U.S. naturalization application (Form N-400) asks, "Have you EVER registered to vote or voted in any Federal, state, or local election in the United States?" A person who has already registered or voted and answers "no" to this question has made a false statement in the naturalization process. Many of the 13 Central District defendants face this charge. Ana Domínguez, 60, of Long Beach, a native of El Salvador, registered to vote in July 2006 and is accused of submitting false naturalization documents in March 2026, nearly 20 years later.
The Justice Department said, "A complaint, indictment, and information merely contain accusations," and that "all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law."
Acting Deputy AG McCotter says California ignored the list of more than 20,000
"Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen," said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. "Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week," he said.
"California refused to look at that list," McCotter said, adding, "Today's charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk." He went on to demand that "California must verify the citizenship of those more than 20,000 registrants before mail-in ballots are counted."
Today DOJ charged 28 noncitizens across California with federal election crimes.
— Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter (@PADAGMcCotter) October 19, 2026
All were on the list of 20k we sent to California, which has refused to even look at the list.
It's not too late for California to step up & protect the votes of American citizens. pic.twitter.com/5QAlPwBBjm
"Today's arrests prove what we have been saying," said Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California. "California is mailing ballots to noncitizens, and they are refusing to comply with federal law" that makes voting by noncitizens a crime, he said. "The voting rights of American citizens must be protected," he stressed.
"Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is committed to protecting the integrity of our nation's electoral process" by investigating criminal activity that undermines public confidence in elections, said John A. Condon, HSI Acting Executive Associate Director. He said HSI would continue to work with federal, state and local law enforcement to pursue those who knowingly violate federal law, and that all investigations would be conducted fairly, thoroughly and with due process.
Federal government sues California based on list compiled by USCIS and HSI
Before charging the 28, the Justice Department on Oct. 15 filed a lawsuit against the state of California in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Case No. 2:26-cv-12025). The defendants are the state of California, Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, the state's chief elections officer, and Dean C. Logan, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk. Weber and Logan were named in their official capacities.