Federal agents arrested dozens of foreign nationals for voting in the days leading up to Election Day as the Trump administration continues to surge resources to secure the ballot box.
The Justice Department said Monday that another 63 people, including four illegal immigrants and dozens of foreign nationals, had been charged with election-related crimes, including illegally voting in past elections and fraudulently registering to vote. The arrests spanned the entire country and included foreign nationals from Latin America to the Middle East.
“Today’s announcement marks the largest surge of voter-fraud arrests since President Trump returned to office,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday. “These foreign nationals allegedly took advantage of the trust of the American people and flouted the laws that govern our nation’s elections. This Department of Justice will continue investigating and prosecuting voter fraud to restore confidence in our electoral system.”
The arrests come after the Trump administration unsuccessfully pushed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would have required proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. The bill did not make it through the Republican-controlled Senate despite pressure from President Donald Trump.
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With concerns over non-citizen voting still looming large, the administration stepped up efforts to target non-citizen voting. Over the last nine weeks, 195 foreign nationals have been arrested across 25 states for election-related crimes. According to the Justice Department, those arrests included:
- Benito Covarrubias Iniguez, a 64-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico facing charges in Georgia for making a false claim of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in a federal election.
- Ali Khan, a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago facing charges in Texas for voting by an alien. Investigators say he voted in the 2024 election.
- Mohammad Hachibur Rahman, a 33-year-old illegal immigrant from Bangladesh facing charges in Maryland for unlawful voting. He is accused of voting in the 2024 federal election.
- Selvin Porfidio Gonzalez Escobar, a 43-year-old illegal immigrant from Guatemala charged in North Carolina with one count of falsely claiming citizenship to vote and one count of voting by an alien. Investigators say he voted in 2020 and 2024 after registering to vote in 2020.
Other foreign nationals charged included those from Mexico, Nigeria, Guatemala, Italy, Kenya, Bermuda, Singapore, Jamaica, Colombia, United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Cuba, Barbados, Argentina, Dominican Republic, France, St. Kitts and Nevis, Honduras, Germany, Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Israel, Samoa, Sudan, Congo, the Philippines, Iran, Finland, and Portugal. Most of these individuals were lawful permanent residents in the United States.
Investigators said that a 52-year-old from Kenya named Elizabeth Margaret Crudup living in North Carolina has been registered to vote since 2008 and has voted in nine general elections, including 2024, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, and 2008 and nine primary elections. She was charged with one count of falsely claiming citizenship to vote and one count of voting by an alien.
Another man, 64-year-old Gregory Eugene Wade of Bermuda, has been registered to vote since 2000, according to investigators. He voted in general elections in 2024, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2004, 2002, and 2000.
Federal agents also arrested 35-year-old Mahyar Nikzad, a lawful permanent resident from Iran, for making false statements on his naturalization applications. Prosecutors allege he illegally registered to vote when checking a box on a form that stated “I am a U.S. citizen” before voting in March 2024 and November 2024. He later denied that he ever claimed to be a citizen, the department said.
Heading into Election Day, the Justice Department will have election monitors across all 50 states as it encourages citizens to report any suspicious activity or suspected voter fraud.
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