Amid debate in Congress over requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, federal prosecutors in Alabama charged an illegal immigrant with obtaining a false identity in 2011 and voting unlawfully in multiple elections, including two presidential contests. 

The Justice Department announced that the illegal immigrant from Guatemala agreed to a guilty plea after being charged with nine counts.

The illegal alien, identified as Angelica Maria Francisco, 42, voted in elections in 2016, 2020, and 2021, the Justice Department said. Francisco most recently lived in Russellville, Alabama, the agency said.

According to the plea agreement, Francisco assumed the false identity in 2011 to get a U.S. passport, which she used to travel to and from Guatemala in 2012, 2015, and 2018.  

“Using the same false identity, Francisco also registered to vote in Alabama in 2016 and voted in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections,” the Justice Department said in a Sept. 5 press release. “And in 2021, Francisco used the same false identity to apply for and receive a renewed passport, which she used to travel to and from Guatemala in 2022.”

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona conducted the investigation with Joseph R. Wysowaty, resident agent in charge of the Atlanta office of the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.

Alabama’s top election official, Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, said the state is focused on making sure that only legal voters cast ballots.

“I have been very clear that a top priority of this office is ensuring only eligible American citizens are voting in Alabama elections,” Allen said in a public statement. “I want to thank the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Alabama for their diligent efforts [in] investigating and charging this individual. We will continue to assist law enforcement in every way possible as they prosecute individuals who vote illegally in Alabama elections to the fullest extent of the law.” 

In July, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act, which would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. 

In July, House and Senate Republicans, led by Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee and Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, signed a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland asking whether the Justice Department is investigating or prosecuting cases of voting by illegal immigrants. 

The lawmakers’ letter notes that South Carolina discovered that voter registration forms were given to noncitizens, that Georgia found in 2022 that 1,600 noncitizens had attempted to register to vote, and that Ohio increased verification efforts after noncitizens were found on voter rolls. 

“Plainly, there are opportunities for and instances of noncitizen voter registration, and so the critical question is whether the laws against doing so are being enforced by your department,” Republican lawmakers’ letter to the attorney general says.

“There appear to have been few prosecutions by your department under these laws, and there is no indication that you have been pursuing cases in places like Georgia and Ohio where aliens have been caught registering or voting,” the letter adds.