Five foreign nationals residing in Texas have been charged for election-integrity crimes, the Department of Justice announced yesterday.
I'm charging five foreigners for illegally voting in federal elections. U.S. elections should be free, fair, honest, and legal—and FOR AMERICANS ONLY. The process deserves 100% confidence of the American people. My office is doing its part to secure the ballot box! https://t.co/yXKBsY2Z1c
— U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz (@USAttyReitz) October 30, 2026
Aaron Reitz, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said that indictments had been handed down to one illegal alien and four individuals with lawful permanent residence in the United States.
The individuals facing charges for illegally voting in federal elections are Ali Khan, a DACA recipient from Trinidad and Tobago and Mohammed Omar Hassan from Nigeria, as well as Diego Benavides Rodriguez, Jose Vazquez-Mendoza, and Karen Hinojosa-Martinez, who are all Mexican nationals.
Rodriguez and Hinojosa-Martinez will face additional charges for falsely claiming American citizenship and lying on immigration forms respectively.
“Free, fair, and honest elections—unmarred by fraud, errors, or illegality—are fundamental to a healthy constitutional republic,” Aaron Reitz said in a press release. “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.”
Rodriguez and Hinojosa-Martinez each face a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, while Khan, Hassan, and Vazquez-Mendoza face up to a year in prison and a $10,000 fine.