Illegal Immigrant Arrested in Indiana for Allegedly Voting in Federal Election
Department of Homeland Security states the woman, a Guatemalan national, will be deported.
An illegal immigrant from Guatemala has been arrested in Indiana and accused of voting in a federal election, officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced Friday.
Helda Araceli Mendez-Merida was taken into custody on September 3 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Indianapolis. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that Mendez-Merida, described as an "illegal alien," will be deported.
"If even one non-citizen casts a vote, it steals a vote from an American citizen," Mullin said. "This illegal alien will be deported so she can never again poison our elections."
Officials did not specify which election Mendez-Merida allegedly voted in. Records indicate she entered the U.S. illegally through Arizona in September 2015. She was initially arrested by a U.S. Border Patrol officer and released. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal for her in September 2019.
"The right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy in the United States," said ICE Enforcement Division Acting Assistant Director Patricia Hyde. "Helda Araceli Mendez-Merida attempted to subvert a national election by unlawfully casting a vote."
Hyde added, "Voting in U.S. elections is a privilege that is reserved exclusively for U.S. citizens, and we cannot allow that sacred right to be perverted by foreign nationals who seek to undermine American democracy."