Updated October 20, 2026
On October 19, 2026, federal agents arrested 11 people across California. They are among 28 lawful permanent residents, green card holders, charged by criminal complaint with federal election crimes in what the Justice Department calls "Operation Protect the Vote," a coordinated action by all four U.S. Attorney's Offices in the state. Thirteen of the 28 are charged in the Central District of California, the federal district that covers Long Beach and Downey. Three of those thirteen live in Long Beach; others live in Wilmington, Carson, Pico Rivera, La Puente, West Covina, Commerce, Rancho Palos Verdes, and Anaheim. The government alleges that 22 of the 28 voted and that the rest registered without voting. Officials told the Los Angeles Times that the people not yet arrested would be in custody soon. (Sources: the Justice Department's announcement of October 19, 2026, and the Los Angeles Times the same day.)
This guide covers where these cases come from, what was actually charged and under which statutes, what each one carries, what a conviction does to a green card, how people end up on the voter rolls without meaning to, and what to do if HSI has contacted you or someone in your family.
Where these cases come from
On October 13, the federal government gave California a list of more than 20,000 registered voters it describes as likely noncitizens, assembled by the Department of Homeland Security by cross-referencing government databases, and asked that their mail ballots be set aside until citizenship was confirmed. The Secretary of State and Los Angeles County declined, saying the list had not been verified and that federal law bars that kind of removal within 90 days of an election. The United States sued on October 15, and on October 19 asked a federal judge to stop ballots from people on the list from being processed. Every one of the 28 people charged is on that list, and the Justice Department says it has charged 113 noncitizens in 20 states over the past seven weeks.
The practical point for a permanent resident who has ever been registered to vote in California is simple: your name may be on that list whether or not you ever cast a ballot, and the time to get advice is before a letter arrives, not after.
What was actually charged
In the Central District, every defendant is charged with making false statements in a naturalization application, and some also with fraudulent voter registration. Both are felonies with a statutory maximum of five years. The Eastern District (Fresno and Sacramento) charged the misdemeanor of voting by a noncitizen in a federal election, with a one-year maximum. The Northern and Southern Districts added false claims of citizenship to vote and attempted procurement of naturalization.
The complaints describe the same pattern in nearly every case: a voter registration form, signed under penalty of perjury, that claimed U.S. citizenship, in several Central District cases filed as far back as 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006; then a naturalization application, filed between 2018 and 2026, that answered no to whether the person had ever claimed citizenship, registered to vote, or voted. Many of these cases were made by the naturalization application, not by a ballot. A pending or planned N-400 is the first thing to tell a lawyer.
The statutes, and what each one carries
A maximum is a ceiling set by Congress, not a prediction; what a sentence looks like in a specific case depends on the facts, the federal sentencing guidelines, and the person's history.
- False statements in naturalization or citizenship matters, 18 U.S.C. § 1015(a). Knowingly making a false statement under oath in any matter relating to naturalization, citizenship, or the registry of aliens. The naturalization application asks whether you have ever claimed to be a citizen, registered to vote, or voted. Up to five years. This is the charge every Central District defendant faces.
- Fraudulent voter registration, 52 U.S.C. § 20511(2). Knowingly and willfully submitting a voter registration application known to be materially false, in an election with a federal office on the ballot. Up to five years. "Fraudulent voter registration" in the government's announcement is this section.
- False claim of citizenship to register or vote, 18 U.S.C. § 1015(f). Knowingly claiming to be a citizen in order to register or to vote, which is what the citizenship box on the form asks. Up to five years. Charged in the Northern and Southern Districts.
- Unlawfully procuring naturalization, 18 U.S.C. § 1425. Procuring, or attempting to procure, naturalization contrary to law. Up to ten years for a first or second offense, and a citizenship obtained that way can be taken back. Charged as an attempt in some Northern and Southern District cases.
- Voting by a noncitizen, 18 U.S.C. § 611. Voting in an election with a federal office on the ballot without being a citizen. A misdemeanor, up to one year. It does not require proof that anyone told you that you could not vote. This is the Eastern District charge.
- False claim of citizenship, 18 U.S.C. § 911. Falsely and willfully representing yourself as a citizen, in any setting. Up to three years. Not among the charges announced on October 19, but it is the general statute and can be added.
The narrow exception. Sections 611 and 1015(f) both exempt a person who meets all three conditions: each natural or adoptive parent is or was a U.S. citizen; the person began living permanently in the United States before turning 16; and the person reasonably believed at the time that they were a citizen. It is rare, and section 1015(a), the naturalization-application charge, has no such exception. For someone who grew up here in a citizen family, it is still the first question to ask.
What a conviction does to a green card
For a permanent resident, the criminal case is the smaller of the two problems. Federal immigration law makes a noncitizen deportable for voting in violation of any law (INA § 237(a)(6)) and for falsely claiming citizenship for any purpose or benefit, including voting (INA § 237(a)(3)(D)). The false-claim ground has no waiver for most people. It also makes a person inadmissible, so a trip abroad can end at the airport on the way back, and it blocks naturalization: unlawful voting and false claims are treated as the absence of good moral character.
Immigration law has its own version of the exception above, with the same three conditions, for both the false-claim and the unlawful-voting grounds. It is decided by immigration judges and USCIS, not by the criminal court.
Two things follow. A guilty plea offered to end the criminal case quickly can be the very thing that triggers removal; defense lawyers are required to advise about that (Padilla v. Kentucky), and the plea has to be built with the immigration result in view from the start. And anything filed with USCIS while the case is open, a naturalization application, a green card renewal, a travel document, is a sworn statement that can become evidence. A pending naturalization application is already being read against the voter rolls; that is how most of the Central District cases were built. Nothing should go to USCIS until the criminal and immigration lawyers have agreed on it.
How people end up registered without meaning to
The government's theory in these cases is that each person knew they were not a citizen and registered or voted anyway. Knowledge and intent are elements of the statutes above, and the record of how the registration happened is where a case is won or lost.
Since 2018, California has registered eligible people automatically through DMV transactions unless they opt out. Within months of the launch, the DMV acknowledged that about 1,500 people, including lawful residents who were not citizens, had been registered in error between April and September 2018 because its own staff had changed eligibility answers on applications, through no fault of the customer; a separate error that year affected about 23,000 registrations. Older registrations, including the 2002 to 2007 ones in these cases, came from paper forms at DMV counters, voter drives at stores, campuses, and churches, and county registrar forms, where a volunteer or clerk often filled in the form and the person signed it, and where the citizenship box could be pre-filled, misread, or badly translated. A person can be on the rolls for twenty years and receive ballots in the mail without having asked for any of it.
None of that is a guaranteed defense, and a mailed ballot that was filled in and returned is harder to explain than a name on a list. But who filled out the form, what language it was in, what the DMV's or the county's own records show, and whether anyone ever explained the checkbox are facts, and they are the first things a defense lawyer goes to find.
If HSI has sent a letter, called, or come to the door
Contact usually takes one of four forms: a letter asking you to come in for an interview, a phone call, agents at home or at work asking to talk, or an arrest on a warrant. Each one means the investigation is already under way. The interview is where cases are made.
- Say that you want a lawyer, then stop talking. That sentence ends the questioning, and it cannot be used against you. Explaining, apologizing, or "clearing things up" can.
- Don't sign anything, and don't consent to a search of your phone, your home, or your car. If agents have a warrant they will search; you don't have to help, and you shouldn't obstruct.
- Don't cancel or "fix" the registration, and don't call the county registrar. After contact from federal agents, a change to the record reads as consciousness of guilt, and it is itself a new record.
- Don't file anything with USCIS, and if a naturalization application is pending, say so to the lawyer first. The application is how most of these cases were built.
- Keep every document: the letter, any form you were handed, your DMV paperwork, your naturalization file, and the ballots and voter mail you have received over the years. Dates matter.
- Don't discuss the facts on a jail phone or by text. Calls from custody are recorded.
- Family members: find out where the person is being held, and don't try to explain on their behalf. The first call is to a lawyer, not to the number on the agent's card.
What happens in federal court
Federal cases move differently from the Long Beach courthouse. The 11 people arrested on October 19 made their initial appearances that same afternoon in U.S. District Court; for the Central District that is the Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. No pleas are taken at that appearance. At it, or shortly after, a magistrate judge decides release or detention under the Bail Reform Act. There is no bail schedule; the question is whether conditions can reasonably assure that the person will appear and that the community is safe. Immigration status is argued at that hearing. A permanent resident with roots, work, and family in the area has a case for release, though an ICE detainer can complicate it.
Before the hearing, a pretrial services officer interviews the person. That interview is about release conditions, not the facts of the case, and a lawyer should be present for it. A case that began with a complaint must be indicted within 30 days, and then come an arraignment, discovery, motions, and either a resolution or a trial. A person who cannot afford counsel is appointed the Federal Public Defender at the first appearance; retained counsel can take over at any point.
The immigration side needs its own lawyer
A permanent resident facing these charges needs an immigration attorney alongside the defense lawyer, from the start, and the two have to work from one plan: the plea, the timing, and anything filed with USCIS all decide the immigration result. The firm defends the criminal case and does not handle immigration matters; ask about a referral in the first conversation.
If you or someone in your family has been contacted, the time to call is before the next conversation with an agent, not after. A consultation with a federal criminal defense attorney in Long Beach or Downey covers the charge, the green card, and what to do this week.
This page is general information for Long Beach residents, not legal advice about any specific situation. Agency fees and procedures change; confirm details with the agency before you rely on them.
