Five defendants and the allegations
The defendants include Ali Khan, 33, a Trinidad and Tobago national residing in La Porte whom prosecutors describe as an illegal alien and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient.
The other four defendants currently hold or previously held lawful permanent resident status, according to prosecutors. However, none possessed U.S. citizenship, a requirement for voting in federal elections.
Those defendants include Mohammed Omar Hassan, 61, a Nigerian citizen living in Houston; Diego Benavides Rodriguez, 29, a Mexican citizen residing in Laredo; Jose Vazquez-Mendoza, 51, a Mexican citizen living in Port Isabel; and Karen Hinojosa-Martinez, 37, a Mexican citizen residing in McAllen.
Khan, Hassan, Rodriguez and Vazquez-Mendoza face charges of voting by an alien in a federal election. Rodriguez also faces a charge of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. A McAllen grand jury indicted Hinojosa-Martinez on a charge of lying on immigration documents after she allegedly voted in a federal election.
Prosecutors allege Khan, Hassan and Rodriguez voted illegally in the 2024 election. Hassan also allegedly voted in 2022, while Vazquez-Mendoza allegedly voted in the 2022 special election for Congressional District 34.
On the illegal-voting charges, Khan, Hassan, Rodriguez and Vazquez-Mendoza each face up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted. Rodriguez and Hinojosa-Martinez face up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on their respective citizenship and immigration-document charges.
The FBI and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Calls for stronger voting safeguards
U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz emphasized the importance of protecting American elections in a statement accompanying the announcement.
“Free, fair, and honest elections—unmarred by fraud, errors, or illegality—are fundamental to a healthy constitutional republic,” Reitz said in the press release. “To that end, we are always on the hunt for bad actors meddling in our elections. I’m proud to defend Americans’ cherished right to vote and the integrity of our American institutions. American elections are for Americans only, and these foreigners will be brought to justice.”
State Rep. David Lowe (R-District 91) condemned the allegations in a statement to The Dallas Express.
“This is absolutely outrageous and a direct assault on American sovereignty! The integrity of our elections is not negotiable. Every illegal vote undermines the rights of American citizens and threatens the foundation of our constitutional republic.”
Chris Russo, who leads Texans for Strong Borders, also called for additional election security measures.
“This case makes it clear that our elections are not nearly as secure as the Open Borders left claims.”
“We have repeatedly expressed a need for Congress to pass the SAVE Act, and we call upon the State of Texas to conduct a systemic review of its voter rolls in response to these cases to ensure that only citizens vote.”
“The franchise is the basis of our government’s legitimate authority. If foreign nationals participate in our election, our nation’s sovereignty is in grave peril,” Russo told The Dallas Express.
A separate Tarrant County case
The charges come amid other federal cases involving allegations of noncitizen voting in Texas.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, federal prosecutors charged Eliseo Morales-Tapia, 58, a Mexican national, in a separate case involving allegations that he used another person’s identity to obtain government documents and cast a ballot in Tarrant County.
Prosecutors charged Morales-Tapia by federal complaint on March 20, 2026, with identity theft, voter fraud and passport fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced on March 27, 2026.
The five new defendants face criminal allegations, not convictions. Prosecutors must establish the elements of each offense in court. Each defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
