HOUSTON — Five noncitizens, including an illegal immigrant living in La Porte, face federal charges involving unlawful voting, false claims of U.S. citizenship and lies on immigration documents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The office, led by U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz, announced the cases in an Oct. 30 news release provided to Katy Christian Magazine. The defendants are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, Nigeria and Mexico.
“Free, fair, and honest elections—unmarred by fraud, errors, or illegality—are fundamental to a healthy constitutional republic,” Reitz said.
“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.”
Ali Khan, 33, of La Porte, is an illegal immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago and a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, according to prosecutors. He is charged in Houston with illegally voting in the 2024 federal election.
The other four defendants are or were lawful permanent residents, but none is a U.S. citizen, prosecutors said. They were not eligible to vote in federal elections.
Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, of Houston, is a Nigerian citizen charged in Houston with illegally voting in federal elections in 2022 and 2024.
Diego Benavides Rodriguez, 29, a Mexican citizen living in Laredo, is charged there with illegally voting in the 2024 election and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship.
Jose Vazquez-Mendoza, 51, a Mexican citizen living in Port Isabel, is charged in Brownsville with illegally voting in the 2022 special election for Texas’ 34th Congressional District.
Five noncitizens face federal charges in election integrity cases in South Texas. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
A federal grand jury in McAllen indicted Karen Hinojosa-Martinez, 37, a Mexican citizen living in that city, on a charge of lying on immigration documents after allegedly voting in a federal election.
“Voting in U.S. elections is a right reserved for U.S. citizens, and Homeland Security Investigations will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations of unlawful voting,” said John A. Pasciucco, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio.
“We are committed to protecting the integrity of the electoral process and ensuring that those who violate federal law are held accountable.”
The false citizenship charge against Rodriguez and the immigration document charge against Hinojosa-Martinez each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
Rodriguez also faces up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine on the illegal voting charge. Khan, Hassan and Vazquez-Mendoza face the same maximum penalties for illegal voting.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas attorney general’s office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The charges are accusations, and all five defendants are presumed innocent unless convicted.
Katy Christian Magazine has also reported on Harris County election audits, litigation over the county’s voter rolls, vote-harvesting charges in Frio County and Texas’ legal challenge to federal election monitors.
For local election information, see Katy Christian Magazine’s 2026 general election voter guides for Harris and Fort Bend counties.
Feature photo: Five noncitizens face federal charges in election integrity cases in South Texas. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas.
