ICE HSI Arrests Five Non-Citizens Charged with Illegally Voting in Florida

Several suspects have prior criminal histories that include battery on a law enforcement officer, domestic violence, and cocaine trafficking

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested five non-citizens charged with voting by an alien in the state of Florida.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida announced that on October 21 and October 22, HSI arrested five suspects, all of whom are Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs). The five suspects are:

• Diane Wendy Curley, an LPR from Canada, arrested on October 21 and charged for voting in 2022 and 2024. Her criminal history includes convictions for resisting an officer without violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, and arrests for battery - domestic violence and violating a domestic violence protection injunction. She was lawfully admitted to the United States in November 1991 and was granted LPR status in June 1994.
• Luis Manuel Perez, an LPR from Cuba, arrested on October 21 and charged for voting in 2022 and 2024. His criminal history includes a prior arrest for battery. He illegally entered the United States in March 1981 and was granted LPR status in January 1985.
• Jaimie Orlando Sosa Sardina, an LPR from Cuba, arrested on October 22 and charged for registering to vote in 2022 and voting in 2022 and 2024. He entered the United States in May 1967 and was granted LPR status in September 1968. His criminal history includes convictions for TWO counts of aggravated battery on a police officer, resisting an officer with violence, and disturbing the peace, and arrests for felony Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) violation, TWO counts of felony cocaine trafficking, and disorderly conduct.
• Pedro Igor Almeida Franco, an LPR from Brazil, arrested on October 21 and charged for voting in 2024. He was lawfully admitted to the United States in April 1998, and was granted LPR status in September 2005.
• Lise Marie Johnson, an LPR from Canada, arrested on October 22 and charged for registering to vote in 2021 and voting in 2022. She repeatedly lawfully entered the United States between 1994 and 2014, and was granted LPR status in April 2015.

Diane Wendy Curley during her arrest by HSI Tampa

Jaime Sosa-Sardina during his arrest

Lise Marie Johnson during her arrest

"Thanks to the great work of the patriots at HSI, as well as our state and local partners, five more non-citizens have been arrested and charged for illegally voting in past elections," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "Every time a non-citizen votes, it steals the vote of a hard-working American citizen. The Trump Administration is committed to restoring election integrity and making sure that only American citizens are electing America's leaders."

This is part of the Trump Administration's broader focus on stopping non-citizens from voting in American elections. Recent examples include:

• In October, HSI arrested Lizbeth Almonte-Rosa, a naturalized U.S. citizen from the Dominican Republic, for registering to vote and then illegally voting in 2022 in New Jersey prior to her naturalization.
• In October, HSI arrested Andres Garcia, an alien from Cuba, who registered to vote and then illegally voted in 2022 and 2024 in Missouri.
• In October, HSI arrested Paulo Jorge Silva, an alien from Portugal, who registered to vote and then illegally voted in 2024 in Pennsylvania.
• In September, Secretary Mullin and Attorney General Todd Blanche held a press conference announcing federal indictments against ten non-citizens for illegally voting in Minnesota.
• In September, HSI arrested Mukeshkumar Somabhai Chaudhari, a non-citizen from India, for knowingly making a false claim of U.S. citizenship to vote in the 2024 election in Minnesota.
• In September, HSI and the FBI arrested Sanata Coulibaly, an alien from Senegal, who admitted to voting in 2020 and 2024 in New Jersey.
• In September, an HSI investigation led to the conviction of Evelyn Novelles Miller, an alien from the Philippines, who illegally voted in the 2024 election in Pennsylvania.
• In September, HSI arrested Ludwig Uriel Espejo-Carrillo, an alien from Mexico, and charged him with unlawful voting and false claim to U.S. citizenship after illegally voting in American elections in 2015.
• In September, ICE arrested Anthony Tyrone Higgs, an alien from the Bahamas who had illegally voted in the 2020 election, and whose criminal history includes convictions for TWO counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, TWO counts of grand larceny, armed robbery with a deadly weapon, criminal domestic violence, assault on a police officer, and resisting arrest.
• In September, ICE arrested Mariana Alexandra Dewey, an alien from Peru, for illegally misrepresenting herself as a U.S. citizen to vote in the 2024 election in Kansas.
• In August, Carlos Felipe Jaramillo-Grajales, a criminal illegal alien from Colombia, was sentenced to three years in prison after an ICE investigation led to him pleading guilty to committing identity theft to illegally vote in elections for more than 20 years.
• In July, HSI arrested Marian Charitun, an alien from Slovakia who had illegally voted in the 2022 election in New Jersey.
• In July, an HSI investigation led to the arrest of Denise Nataly Migliore, an alien from Australia who illegally voted in the 2022 and 2024 elections in Louisiana.
• In May, DHS and the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges against four non-citizens in New Jersey who illegally voted in federal elections and made false statements while applying for U.S. citizenship.
• In April, Jose Ceballos, an alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty to THREE counts of disorderly election conduct after illegally voting multiple times and falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen in Kansas.
• In March, ICE arrested Mahady Sacko, a criminal illegal alien from Mauritania who had been illegally voting in the United States since 2008.

In recent months, DHS has taken additional steps to safeguard the integrity and security of American elections. These measures include:

• In September, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released its 2026 Election Infrastructure Security Plan: Securing the Next 250.
• In July, Secretary Mullin sent letters to secretaries of state in several states across the country warning that tens of thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote.
• In July, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that grant recipients will be required to take several key actions on election integrity.
• In June, DHS directed ICE to enforce stricter penalties for non-citizens who illegally vote in American elections, including deportation.

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