28 green card holders charged with voter fraud in California deny knowledge of registration

Federal prosecutors charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with fraudulent voter registration. Several defendants say they had no memory of ever registering to vote.

Arrested in their homes, defendants say they never knew they were registered

Twenty-eight lawful permanent residents in California were charged Monday with federal election-related crimes, including fraudulent voter registration and making false statements in naturalization applications — but several of those arrested told a different story at the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, latimes.com reports.

Among the defendants was Ana Domínguez, 60, a native of El Salvador living in Long Beach. Federal authorities accused her of fraudulently registering to vote in July 2006 and then lying about it in her naturalization paperwork in March 2026. Domínguez said she had no memory of ever registering to vote. A second defendant charged with the same offences made the same claim.

At a news conference held hours before the court appearances, federal prosecutors and senior Justice Department officials described the arrests as evidence that California elections are being corrupted by noncitizen voters — a claim President Trump has repeatedly advanced.

'You have to go out of your way to register'

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, rejected the notion that those charged could have been unaware of their actions. "You have to go out of your way to register to vote, it's not something that just happens to you," Essayli said.

California state officials pushed back, arguing that isolated cases of noncitizens registering to vote — if accurate — do not constitute evidence of widespread fraud. They also raised doubts about the reliability of the charges, pointing to similar accusations that have been disproved elsewhere in the country.

Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA School of Law, wrote Monday in a blog post that many such cases stem from administrative error rather than criminal intent. "We know from past experience that sometimes people register to vote accidentally, as when there is a mistake at the DMV," Hasen wrote. "There is only a crime if the government can prove willful violations of federal law."

Shackled in pyjamas, recognised around the world

Omar Muñoz, 72, a lawful permanent resident from Belize living in Commerce, became the most visible face of the crackdown after photographs of his early-morning arrest — taken outside his home while still wearing red and black pyjama pants — were distributed internationally. Muñoz shuffled into court shackled at the waist and ankles, still dressed as he had been when agents came to his door.

He is charged with fraudulently registering to vote in September 2019, casting a ballot in 2020, voting twice in 2022, and voting again in 2024. He is also accused of lying on his naturalisation application by denying he had ever falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. In the courtroom, Muñoz held a hand over his heart as he waved to family seated in the first row.

Hasen wrote that the widespread distribution of the arrest images was "meant to convey that the problem of noncitizen voting in California is both pervasive and serious, crimes that are undetected by willfully ignorant California election officials." The reality, he argued, "is likely far different," with voter fraud confined to isolated cases, some involving less deliberate intent.

Muñoz's daughter, Lliani Orantes, a U.S.-born nurse, said federal agents swarmed and cordoned off the family's block before taking her father away. She said the family was trying to establish whether her father could have been confused with a younger relative of the same name — including a U.S.-born son who is a registered voter. Orantes also expressed frustration over how the arrest was handled.

Family members waited in the hallway

Four of the 28 defendants made initial court appearances Monday afternoon. More than a dozen relatives gathered outside the federal courthouse beforehand, visibly anxious. Domínguez's daughter wept in the hallway while waiting for her mother's case to be called. When Domínguez approached the judge, she blew a kiss to her husband and daughter seated in the second row. She wore a black back brace; her legs were cuffed.

A fourth defendant, José Antonio Bañuelos-Díaz, 42, a Mexican national and West Adams resident, appeared in court in a reflective work vest bearing a landscaping company's name, blue jeans and boots with an American flag design. He had been on his way to work when he was arrested.

During the hearings, each defendant spoke only to confirm they had reviewed and understood the charges. In every case, the federal prosecutor stated the government was not seeking detention. The magistrate judge released all four on personal recognizance, without supervision requirements. All four are scheduled for a preliminary hearing on 9 November. Their federal public defenders did not respond to a request for comment.

Standoff between federal and state authorities

The arrests come amid a week-long confrontation between the Justice Department and California election officials over alleged election fraud — a dispute that has escalated sharply since the Trump administration began pressing states on noncitizen voting.

Election experts have consistently maintained that noncitizen voter registration is most often the result of confusion or administrative error, not organised fraud. State officials in California have echoed that position, arguing the charges do not reflect the scale of irregularity the federal government is alleging.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)