Seven Noncitizens Arrested in Texas Election-Related Cases

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) announced the arrests of seven non-citizens indicted in federal cases involving illegal activity connected to the 2024 general election.

The arrests followed investigations by Paxton's office and cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas, the FBI, and Homeland Security Investigations. Federal prosecutors announced the charges last week.

Mexican citizen Carlos Salas Barrios, 41, was charged with allegedly voting in a federal election while not being a U.S. citizen. Nigerian citizen Joshua Nmelichukwu Akpom, 27, was charged with allegedly making false statements during the naturalization process.

Nigerian citizens Helen Sayen Adams, Indian citizen Khalwinder Singh Bhengura, Mexican citizen Moises Anwar Arellano-Alba, Democratic Republic of the Congo citizen Celestin Kuasa, and Mexican citizen Rocio Thrasher were each charged with voting by an alien and making false statements of citizenship to register to vote, according to federal prosecutors.

AG Paxton said the cases resulted from his office's investigations into potential noncitizen voting following the 2024 election.

"Foreign influence has no place in American elections," said AG Paxton. "Today, my office is announcing our efforts to arrest foreigners who attempted to cheat the system and violate our laws that uphold election integrity."

The Department of Justice said the defendants' cases involve different allegations. For example, prosecutors said Akpom's alleged voting conduct fell outside the applicable statute of limitations, so the naturalization-related charge was used instead.

Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, while Texas law also requires voters to be U.S. citizens.