DOJ Charges 28 Green Card Holders With Voter Fraud Across California

The Justice Department unsealed criminal complaints against 28 lawful permanent residents across California's four federal districts, alleging they falsely claimed U.S. citizenship to register and vote, then lied about it on naturalization applications. The action follows a federal lawsuit against California over its refusal to set aside ballots from a list of flagged registrants.

• DOJ charged 28 lawful permanent residents across California's Central, Eastern, Northern and Southern Districts with election-related federal crimes, arresting 11 on October 19, 2026.
• False statements on a naturalization application and fraudulent voter registration are both felonies carrying a maximum five-year federal prison sentence; some defendants instead face a misdemeanor voting-by-an-alien charge with a one-year maximum.
• On October 13, the federal government gave California a list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants and asked it to set aside their vote-by-mail ballots; California declined.
• DOJ says all 28 defendants charged appear on that list of more than 20,000 names, and has filed a separate lawsuit against California seeking a court order to prevent counting of ballots from unverified registrants.
• Court documents allege the defendants claimed U.S. citizenship to register and vote, then later denied under oath on naturalization paperwork that they had ever claimed citizenship, registered, or voted.

Executive summary

The Justice Department announced criminal complaints against 28 foreign nationals, all lawful permanent residents, across California's four federal judicial districts, with federal law enforcement arresting 11 of them on October 19, 2026. The effort, called 'Operation Protect the Vote,' is…

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