An illegal immigrant has agreed to plead guilty to charges of identity theft, which she used to unlawfully vote in several American elections.
The news came in a press release from the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday September 5. 42-year-old Angelica Maria Francisco was charged with nine counts of false citizenship claims related to voting and passport application as well as aggravated identity theft. In addition to the charges filed, a plea agreement was also submitted with the stipulation that the defendant will plead guilty to all nine charges against her.
The agreement was announced by the Northern District of Alabama federal attorney Prim Escalona and the Atlanta office of the federal State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Agent in Charge Joseph Wysowaty.
According to prosecutors, Francisco stole the identity of an American citizen more than a decade ago, around 2011. That same year, she allegedly used the assumed identity to get a passport, which she then used to travel back and forth from Guatemala. Her trips to her homeland took place in 2012, 2015, and 2018.
Francisco is also believed to have used the same false identity to successfully register to vote in the state of Alabama in 2016. She cast her ballots in both the 2016 and 2020 general and primary elections. Then, in 2021, the defendant is said to have applied for and been given an updated passport, which she once again used to get to and from Guatemala back in 2022.
In response to the investigation and plea agreement, Wes Allen, the Secretary of State in Alabama, maintained that election integrity has been a “top priority” of his team, as has making sure that “only eligible American citizens” are casting votes in state elections.
Allen expressed gratitude to the federal State Department as well as the federal Norther District of Alabama attorney’s office for “diligent[ly]” pursuing the case and “charging this individual.” He added that his team is committed to carrying on with the collaboration with law enforcement “as they prosecute” people who “vote illegally” in state elections.
The Republican Secretary of State has a strong track record of defending election integrity, which is a growing concern as there is more pressure to allow noncitizens and immigrants waiting on asylum approval to vote. Earlier this year, Allen testified before the United States Senate on this very issue, and has previously addressed policy problems in this area that have been instituted by the Biden administration.
Specifically, Allen has warned that Executive Order 14019—which mandates that state groups funded by the federal government submit voter registration handouts to everyone who asks, regardless of citizenship verification—is a workaround way for the federal government to operate voter registration agencies.
Allen has also been one of many Republican lawmakers talking about the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility or SAVE Act, which would mandate in-person citizenship verification for everyone who registers to vote. This piece of legislation would also require the removal of all non-citizens from voter rolls, if they have been added before.
