By Desire Emmanuel with Agency Reports
Six lawful permanent residents and a Mexican national who had been ordered removed from the United States have been charged with illegally voting in federal elections, attempting to vote, or falsely claiming US citizenship, federal prosecutors in Texas announced on Tuesday, September 15.
Newsweek reported on Wednesday that the charges came as the Trump administration expanded its focus on election integrity and noncitizen voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Administration officials said increased enforcement is needed to safeguard elections, while voting rights advocates and election experts have long maintained that documented cases of noncitizen voting are relatively rare; the Heritage Foundation’s election-fraud database recorded only 24 instances of noncitizen voting from 2003 through 2023.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas said six defendants were indicted on September 10 and a seventh was charged by criminal complaint the following day. Authorities said all seven defendants had been arrested or had surrendered to authorities by Tuesday.
The defendants included six green card holders from Nigeria, Mexico, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with a Mexican national who had already been ordered removed from the country, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said.
Prosecutors alleged that the cases involved voting in the 2018 or 2024 elections, attempting to vote through provisional ballots, or making false statements regarding citizenship status on government forms.
Among those charged is Helen Sayen Adams, a 67-year-old Nigerian citizen and green card holder whom prosecutors allege falsely claimed US citizenship on a Texas voter registration application before voting in the November 2024 election in Tarrant County.
Rocio Thrasher, a 38-year-old Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident, is accused of making a similar false claim when registering to vote before casting a ballot in the same election.
Authorities also charged Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, a 69-year-old Indian citizen and lawful permanent resident, alleging he falsely claimed US citizenship when registering to vote and later on a Texas driver’s licence application before voting in the 2024 election.
Celestin Katubadi, a 20-year-old citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Carlos Salas Barrios, a 41-year-old Mexican citizen, are accused of casting provisional ballots in the 2024 election despite not being eligible to vote. Prosecutors noted that both ballots were ultimately rejected by election officials.
Another defendant, Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, a Nigerian citizen and lawful permanent resident since 2016, is charged with making false statements during the naturalisation process.
Prosecutors allege he denied previously registering to vote or voting despite records showing he registered in 2017 and cast a ballot in the 2018 election. Authorities said the underlying voting allegation fell outside the statute of limitations.
Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, a Mexican national whom immigration authorities said was ordered removed from the United States in July, is accused of falsely claiming US citizenship on a Texas driver’s license application and voting in the 2024 election in Dallas County. Prosecutors said he surrendered to federal authorities after initially being sought as a fugitive.
US Attorney Ryan Raybould said the cases stemmed from a federal election integrity investigation involving the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Texas Attorney General’s Office and local prosecutors.
The Justice Department has not announced trial dates yet. If convicted, the alleged voting-by-an-alien offences carry a maximum of one year in prison per count, while knowingly making a false claim of US citizenship to register or vote can carry up to five years per count.
Akpom’s alleged false statements in the naturalisation process likewise carry a maximum of five years under federal law.
