The Department of Justice announced that an illegal immigrant has reached an agreement to plead guilty to charges related to stealing the identities of Americans to vote in multiple elections and fraudulently obtain U.S. passports.
Angelica Maria Francisco, a 42-year-old illegal alien who until recently lived in Russellville, Alabama, is charged in federal court with making a false claim of citizenship in connection with voting, making a false statement on a U.S. passport application, using a U.S. passport obtained by false statement, and nine counts of aggravated identity theft.
U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona for the Northern District of Alabama and Resident Agent in Charge Joseph R. Wysowaty of the U.S. Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Atlanta Field Office announced Thursday that a plea agreement has also been submitted indicating that Francisco has agreed to plead guilty to all nine charges.
Francisco is accused of falsely identifying himself as a U.S. citizen around 2011. Prosecutors say he used the false identity to obtain a U.S. passport in 2011, then allegedly used that passport to travel to his native Guatemala in 2012, 2015 and 2018. He also allegedly used the same identity to register to vote in Alabama in 2016 and to vote in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections.
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A U.S. passport showing the State Department logo, Lafayette, California, May 23, 2023. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)
Francisco allegedly used the same false identity to apply for a passport renewal in 2021 and then used it to travel to and from Guatemala in 2022.
The Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service investigated the incident with assistance from the Alabama Department of Law Enforcement, the East Metro Area Crime Center and the Alabama Secretary of State's Office.
“I have always been clear that this office's number one priority is to ensure that only eligible Americans are able to vote in Alabama elections,” Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement. “I want to thank the Department of State and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Alabama for their efforts in investigating and prosecuting this individual. We will continue to assist law enforcement in any way we can in prosecuting to the fullest extent of the law those who illegally voted in Alabama's elections.”
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen testifies during a Senate Rules and Administration Committee hearing in Washington, DC on March 12, 2024. The committee held a hearing on the administration of future elections. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Allen, a Republican, has made election integrity his number one priority in this election, previously telling Fox News Digital that state agencies that receive federal funding: Executive Order 14019 It requires anyone who comes into contact with these agencies to submit their voter registration information without verifying citizenship. President Biden signed the order in 2021 as a way to “promote voting access,” but Republicans argue that its broad interpretation of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA) effectively turns federal agencies into voter registration agencies.
A sign directing voters to the polls outside a polling place in Mountain Brook, Alabama, on Super Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (Ilya Nouberge/Getty Images)
At the Republican National Convention in July, Allen told Fox News Digital that she had also spoken to House Speaker Mike Johnson, ” Protecting American Voters' Eligibility to Vote (SAVE) ActThe bill seeks to require states to obtain proof of citizenship (in person) when individuals register to vote and to require states to remove non-citizens from existing voter rolls.
Last month, prominent conservative Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) called for the SAVE Act to be attached to an extension to spending bills to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.
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“By postponing new government spending until 2025, when a new president will be inaugurated, and attaching the SAVE Act, House Republicans can avoid the Biden-Harris lame-duck omnibus bill and simultaneously hold a secure election,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-Lausanne) said in a statement Friday. “The Senate can choose to either ensure that only eligible Americans can vote in elections or shut down the government. To me, that's a no-brainer.”
