Trump admin targets Indian Green Card holders in alleged US election, citizenship fraud

Since his return to office in 2025, Donald Trump has vehemently spoken out against rooting out fraud in US elections, aiming to ensure that non-citizens never get to vote. Monday's arrests are part of a coordinated effort, known as "Operation Protect the Vote," spearheaded by the California-based US Attorney's Office. Some of the 28 defendants have also been charged with fraudulent voter registration.

US officials asserted that both charges are felonies carrying a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Official policy restricts Green Card holders from voting in US elections As only US citizens are allowed to vote in US elections, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy dictates that unlawful voting and naturalisation, unlawful voter registrations, voting, and false claims to American citizenship may even put an applicant's eligibility for naturalisation in the country under scrutiny.

Reiterating the long-established protocol, the US Justice Department noted that the 28 foreign nationals, including two Indians, are now facing legal repercussions in the US because they are all lawful permanent residents (LPRs), aka Green Card holders. Although it grants them legal immigration status in the country, their identity as a non-citizen bars them from voting in US elections. “Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter.

“Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week. California refused to look at that list. Today's charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk. California must verify the citizenship of those more than 20,000 registrants before mail-in ballots are counted.” "Today’s arrests prove what we have been saying,” said First Assistant U.S.

Attorney Bill Essayli. “California is mailing ballots to noncitizens, and they are refusing to comply with federal law, which makes it a crime for noncitizens to vote. The voting rights of American citizens must be protected.” Indian Green Card holders charged over US voter registration The Justice Department has since released the full list of defendants as part of a jurisdiction breakdown. 30-year-old Amandeep Kaur was charged in the Central District of California.

The Indian national has been living in Rancho Palos Verdes and is in pursuit of US citizenship. However, DOJ flagging his name over claims of fraudulently registering to vote in December 2022 and voting in the November 2024 US election, which helped bring Trump back to power, now puts his naturalisation process in jeopardy. A resident of Sacramento, he has been accused of fraudulently registering to vote on the day of the November 2024 election and voting that day.

The list also includes a Pakistani national and several citizens of Mexico, Philippines, Guatemala, Salvador, Canada and Cambodia among other countries. Further illuminating the repercussions of such charges, US immigration law firm Krilchev & Associates shared a past case where it represented a permanent resident whose naturalisation application was rejected following a voter registration and voting incident.

"Our client accompanied her U.S. citizen spouse to a polling location. According to her account, she informed an election worker that she was not a U.S. citizen," the firm posted on its website on October 19. "Despite this disclosure, the worker continued entering information into an electronic system and instructed her to complete additional steps." The immigration firm argues that its client had limited English proficiency and maintained that she didn't understand what was happening.

Her voter registration and voting history was eventually brought up during the naturalisation process. USCIS subsequently issued a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID). Legal response backing the woman's case explained the circumstances of the incident, according to the US firm. "We submitted sworn declarations, election records, supporting explanations, tax and business documentation, and evidence demonstrating our client’s good moral character," Krilchev.com stated.

"The response addressed her limited English proficiency, her understanding of what had occurred, and her position that she had never intended to violate election laws." USCIS still denied her US citizenship application despite the woman's explanation being taken into account. "This outcome highlights an important distinction: believing that a mistake was unintentional does not necessarily mean USCIS will disregard it," Krilchev noted.

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