Two Indians among 28 Green Card holders accused of election fraud in the US, says DOJ: Here's what we know

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday (local time) announced that two Indians were among 28 Green Card holders accused of fraudulently registering to vote in US elections, with most also accused of casting illegally obtained ballots. Law enforcement arrested 11 of the accused in California, the department said.Two Indians among 28 Green Card holders charged: What we knowAccording to the DOJ’s release, the two Indians have been identified as Amandeep Kaur (30) and Kamlesh Shah (67).

Kaur is an Indian national living in California’s Rancho Palos Verdes who is seeking to become a US citizen. She allegedly registered to vote fraudulently in December 2022 and later voted in the November 2024 US elections.Shah, who lived in Sacramento, allegedly registered to vote fraudulently on the day of the November 2024 election and voted that day. He has been charged through an information, a formal charging document filed by prosecutors.While Kaur faces a felony charge, a serious criminal offence generally punishable by more than a year in prison, Shah is charged with voting by an alien in a federal election, a misdemeanour carrying a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.Of the 28 people accused of election fraud, 11 were arrested during Monday’s raids as part of “Operation Protect the Vote”, a coordinated effort among all four California-based United States Attorney’s Offices to combat and root out fraud in US elections.

However, it was not clear whether the two Indians were among those arrested.Here’s what the DOJ said about the arrestsThe DOJ said, "All 28 foreign nationals charged are lawful permanent residents (LPRs), or 'green card' holders. Although LPRs have legal immigration status in the United States, they are not US citizens and are not permitted to vote in US elections."The charges include making false statements in a naturalisation application, with some defendants also charged with fraudulent voter registration.

According to the DOJ, both offences are felonies carrying a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.The DOJ said that on 13 October, federal authorities sent California a list of individuals and asked the state to set aside their mail-in ballots pending verification of their citizenship. According to the federal government, California refused, prompting it to file a lawsuit seeking a court order to set the ballots aside.

The government said the action was intended to protect citizens’ votes from unlawful dilution and safeguard election integrity.Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said, "Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen," and added, "Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely noncitizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week.

California refused to look at that list. Today's charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk. California must verify the citizenship of those more than 20,000 registrants before mail-in ballots are counted.”The arrests come as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly alleged election fraud in the country. Trump shared the DOJ’s warning on Truth Social, writing, "They will all go to jail for a long period of time!!!" The department had warned California and Los Angeles County election officials that counting mail-in ballots from more than 20,000 people the administration identified as likely noncitizens could expose them to prosecution for aiding a federal crime.Before Monday’s raids, the DOJ had charged around 90 people with various forms of election misconduct in 2026, including 50 who allegedly voted despite being noncitizens.

According to reports, the US had over 227 million registered voters during the 2024 presidential election.