Lisa Boothe, a contributor to Fox News, expressed concerns about vulnerabilities in US elections during ‘The Big Weekend Show.’ She criticized the reliance on an honor system for citizenship verification, especially as states uncover noncitizens registering to vote. Securing voter rolls, she insists, is crucial for maintaining trust in election integrity.
A recent case highlights these concerns. Carlos Felipe Jaramillo-Grajales, from Colombia and residing illegally in the US, was sentenced to three years in prison for identity theft and falsifying his citizenship status. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), he exploited these false credentials to vote in US elections for around 20 years.
“Because of his fraud, he was able to obtain a driver’s license and vote in our elections,” stated DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
Mullin emphasized, “DHS will always fight to protect the integrity of our elections because election security is national security. Only Americans should be electing American leaders.” His statement follows debates in Washington, D.C., about voter verification laws.
Mullin’s observations include as many as 190,830 noncitizens registered to vote in California. Jaramillo-Grajales began his scheme using the identity of a US citizen in 2003 to secure a passport, leading to a Florida driver’s license and voter registration. He participated in the 2020 election and others.
Tim Hemker, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, detailed that Jaramillo-Grajales also used the false identity to obtain other government documents and benefits. In one instance, he secured lawful permanent residency for his fiancée, who became his wife.
DHS framed Jaramillo-Grajales’s conviction as part of broader efforts to target illegal aliens fabricating documents to vote or get benefits. The agency cited cases like Marian Chariton from Slovakia and Jose Ceballos from Mexico, both of whom faced legal consequences for voting illegally.
“Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of HSI, along with our federal partners, this criminal is out of our communities,” Mullin said, emphasizing the efforts to remove Jaramillo-Grajales post-sentence.
The Florida US attorney’s office conducted the investigation alongside Homeland Security Investigations, the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) of the US Department of State, and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier prosecuted the case.