HOUSTON — Federal prosecutors in South Texas have charged five noncitizens with election-integrity crimes — unlawfully voting in federal elections, falsely claiming American citizenship and lying on immigration documents — in cases announced on Friday, October 30, four days before Texans go to the polls in Tuesday's general election.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas, led by U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz, said the five defendants are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria and Mexico. One of them is described by prosecutors as an illegal alien; the other four are or were lawful permanent residents — green-card holders — who, prosecutors stressed, were still not U.S. citizens and therefore not permitted to vote in American elections.
Who is charged, and where
Ali Khan, 33, of La Porte, is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago and a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as DACA, whom prosecutors describe as an illegal alien. He is charged in Houston with voting by an alien in a federal election. Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, of Houston, a citizen of Nigeria, is charged in Houston with the same offence. Diego Benavides Rodriguez, 29, a Mexican citizen living in Laredo, is charged in Laredo with illegal voting and with falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. Jose Vazquez-Mendoza, 51, a Mexican citizen living in Port Isabel, is charged out of Brownsville. Karen Hinojosa-Martinez, 37, a Mexican citizen living in McAllen, was indicted by a McAllen grand jury for lying on immigration documents after allegedly voting in a federal election.
The cases allege that Khan, Hassan and Rodriguez each illegally voted in the 2024 federal election, that Hassan also cast votes in 2022, and that Vazquez-Mendoza illegally voted in the 2022 special election for Texas's 34th Congressional District, according to the allegations in the charges.
What the prosecutors said
"Free, fair, and honest elections — unmarred by fraud, errors, or illegality — are fundamental to a healthy constitutional republic," U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz said in the announcement. "To that end, we are always on the hunt for bad actors meddling in our elections. I'm proud to defend Americans' cherished right to vote and the integrity of our American institutions. American elections are for Americans only, and these foreigners will be brought to justice."
"Voting in U.S. elections is a right reserved for U.S. citizens, and Homeland Security Investigations will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of unlawful voting," said John A. Pasciucco, Special Agent in Charge of HSI San Antonio. "We are committed to protecting the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that those who violate federal law are held accountable." The investigation was conducted by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Texas Attorney General's Office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Arrest and first hearing for Khan
The San Antonio Express-News reported that Khan was arrested in Houston on Wednesday. At a hearing on Thursday, prosecutors briefly argued that he should be held because a gun was found in the house where he was staying; the gun was later said to belong to his brother and has since been removed, the paper reported. The charges against all five are allegations: an indictment or criminal information is a formal accusation, not evidence, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Source: Texas Gazette, citing the San Antonio Express-News
The penalties each person faces
If convicted, Rodriguez and Hinojosa-Martinez each face up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine on the charges of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship and lying on immigration documents. Rodriguez also faces another year in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine for illegal voting — the same maximum that Khan, Hassan and Vazquez-Mendoza face on the voting charge alone.
Background: why a green card is not a vote
Under federal law, only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections. Lawful permanent residents — including the many Punjabi and other immigrant families in the Houston area who hold green cards and are waiting to naturalise — may live and work in the United States permanently, but voting in a federal election before taking the oath of citizenship is itself a federal crime, and it can also destroy a person's immigration case. That distinction is the centre of these five cases: four of the five defendants are or were green-card holders, and prosecutors say holding that card gave them no right to cast the ballots they are accused of casting in 2022 and 2024.
A green card does not include the right to vote in U.S. federal, state or most local elections. Only U.S. citizens can vote. Registering or voting before naturalisation can lead to criminal charges and removal — if you are unsure of your status, do not register, and ask an immigration lawyer before signing any election form.
What happens next
The five cases will now move through three federal court divisions — Houston, Laredo, Brownsville and McAllen, all inside the Southern District of Texas — with arraignments and detention hearings to be scheduled. The announcement lands in the final weekend before the Tuesday, November 3 general election, in which Texans will choose a governor, a U.S. senator and dozens of other state and local officeholders. Awaaz Punjab will follow the court dates and report any pleas, verdicts or dismissals as they happen.