A non-citizen accused of voting illegally in the November 2016 presidential election has been charged with multiple voter fraud and immigration violations in the Eastern District of Texas.
A federal grand jury indicted Salvadoran national Mario Obdulio Orellana on five criminal counts including false representation of U.S. citizenship, false statement in application for a passport, unauthorized use of a Social Security number, and voter fraud.
According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Orellana allegedly entered the United States illegally from El Salvador in the early 1980s:
In 1987, while illegally residing in Shelby County, Texas, Orellana is alleged to have used falsified documents to obtain a birth certificate showing he was born in the United States; a passport as a U.S. citizen; and a social security number and register to vote as a U.S. citizen. Furthermore, Orellana is alleged to have fraudulently voted in the November 2016 election.
It’s both a federal and state crime for non-citizens to vote or register to vote.
If convicted, Orellana faces up to 10 years in federal prison
