Federal officials have arrested Anthony Tyrone Higgs, a Bahamian national who has held a green card since 1976, on allegations of illegal voting in the 2020 U.S. election. The arrest, made by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Decatur, Georgia, on September 3, is part of a broader effort by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to crack down on election integrity-related crimes.
Higgs is accused of voting in the 2020 election, a charge that has initiated deportation proceedings against him. The White House stated that any non-citizen found to have voted illegally will be arrested and removed from the country. "American elections are only for Americans," a White House spokeswoman said.
In addition to the voting violation, Higgs has an extensive criminal record, including charges for armed robbery, domestic violence, assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, two counts of grand larceny, and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin emphasized that the illegal vote of a single non-citizen can nullify a vote cast by an American citizen.
"Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE, this criminal will be removed from our country and can never interfere in our elections again," Mullin stated.
DHS has highlighted several other recent cases involving non-citizens accused of election-related offenses. In August, Colombian national Carlos Jaramillo-Grajales was sentenced to three years in prison after an ICE investigation revealed he committed identity theft to vote illegally for over two decades. In New Jersey, a Slovakian national was found to have voted illegally in the 2022 midterms, and an Australian national is accused of casting ballots illegally in both 2022 and 2024 in Louisiana. Additionally, Mahady Sacko, a Mauritanian national facing a removal order since 2002, was charged with voter fraud in Philadelphia for allegedly voting illegally multiple times since 2008.
These cases underscore ongoing debates surrounding voter identification laws and the integrity of U.S. elections.