An illegal immigrant has agreed to plead guilty to charges related to stealing the identity of an American citizen, the US Justice Department said. Vote in multiple elections and fraudulently obtained an American passport.
Angelica Maria Francisco, a 42-year-old undocumented person who most recently lived in Russellville, Alabama, faces a nine-count information filed in federal court for false claims of citizenship in connection with voting, false statements in application for a United States passport, use of a United States passport obtained by false statements, and aggravated identity theft.
The U.S. Attorney said a plea agreement has also been filed, indicating that Francisco has agreed to plead guilty to all nine counts. Northern District of Alabama Resident Agents-in-Charge Prim F. Escalona and Joseph R. Wisowaty of the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Atlanta Resident Office made the announcement Thursday.
Francisco is accused of assuming the identity of a U.S. citizen in or around 2011. Prosecutors say he used the false identity to obtain a U.S. passport in 2011. He then allegedly used the passport to travel to his native Guatemala in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Using the same identity, he also allegedly registered to vote in Alabama in 2016 before voting in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections.
United States passport with the State Department logo visible, Lafayette, California, May 23, 2023. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
In 2021, Francisco allegedly used the same false identity to apply for and receive a renewed passport, which he then used to travel to Guatemala in 2022.
The State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service investigated the case with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the East Metro Area Crime Center and the Alabama Secretary of State’s Office.
“I have stated clearly that this office’s top priority is to ensure that only eligible U.S. citizens vote in Alabama elections,” Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement. “I want to thank the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama for their diligent efforts to investigate and charge this individual. We will continue to assist law enforcement in every way possible as they prosecute individuals who illegally vote in Alabama elections to the fullest extent of the law.”
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen testifies during a hearing before the Senate Rules and Administration Committee in Washington, DC, on March 12, 2024. The committee held a hearing on the administration of the upcoming elections. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Allen, a Republican, has made election integrity a top priority in this election and previously warned Fox News Digital about how state agencies that receive federal funding must follow the Election Commission’s directives. Executive Order 14019 to send voter registration information to anyone who comes into contact with those agencies without any verification of citizenship. President Biden signed the order in 2021 as a way to “promote access to voting,” but Republicans argue that its broad interpretation of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) essentially leads to the federal government’s apparatus becoming voter registration agencies.
Signs directing voters to the polls are seen outside a polling station in Mountain Brook, Alabama, on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Eliza Novelez/Getty Images)
At the Republican National Convention in July, Allen told Fox News Digital that he also spoke to House Speaker Mike Johnson about a bill called American Voter Eligibility Protection (SAVE) ActIt aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering a person to vote, and to require states to remove the names of non-citizens from existing voter rolls.
Last month, prominent conservative senators Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, pushed for the SAVE Act to include Expense Bill for Detail To avoid closure of government work at the end of the financial year.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“Deferring new government spending until 2025 when we have a new president and adding the SAVE Act ensures that House Republicans will avoid the Biden-Harris lame duck omnibus while also securing our elections,” Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said in a statement Friday. “The Senate can either ensure that only eligible American citizens vote in our elections — or shut down the government. To me, it’s a no-brainer.”
