Texas voter fraud crackdown leads to Homeland Security arrests of non-citizens
Federal authorities are intensifying efforts to police alleged illegal voting, with Homeland Security Investigations agents recently arresting seven non-citizens in North Texas in a voter fraud crackdown. U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould has said his office will pursue cases involving people accused of misrepresenting their citizenship to vote, part of a wider federal effort to review voter rolls and investigate suspected fraudulent registrations ahead of federal elections.
In Massachusetts, a Nigerian national who holds lawful permanent resident status is accused of voting in at least two elections after falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, according to federal authorities.
The Justice Department charged 56-year-old Gladys Adaeze Okafor with unlawfully voting as an alien. Prosecutors allege she cast ballots in the 2022 midterm elections and the 2024 presidential primary despite lacking U.S. citizenship.
Okafor is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on Wednesday.
Gladys Adaeze Okafor, 56, faces allegations that she voted illegally despite not being a U.S. citizen. Authorities say Okafor, a Nigerian citizen, resides in Massachusetts as a lawful permanent resident. (Getty Images; Justice Department)
Federal prosecutors say Okafor repeatedly made false statements about her citizenship on official forms signed under penalty of perjury in order to register and vote.
MORE STORY: Real Housewives of Cheshire’s Darby Ward Welcomes Second Child
Authorities say Okafor submitted a voter registration card in July 2022, certifying with her signature that she was a U.S. citizen. The city of Lynn later added her to its voter rolls.
She allegedly filed a second voter registration form in October 2023, checking the box identifying herself as an American citizen. Court records state that she subsequently voted in the 2024 presidential primary.
Okafor was born in Nigeria and received lawful permanent resident status in December 2022, prosecutors said. She is not a U.S. citizen and has never applied to become one, according to the government.
If convicted, she could face up to one year in prison and a fine of as much as $10,000.
Recently, seven noncitizens were indicted in connection with an election integrity investigation in Texas. Earlier this month, the DOJ charged five people in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin in cases involving alleged illegal voting or fraudulent registration during the 2022 or 2024 elections.