A decades-long immigration case has collided with a question that should never have been controversial in the first place: Who gets to vote in American elections?
Anthony Tyrone Higgs, a Bahamian national who entered the United States during the Ford administration and later became a lawful permanent resident, is now in federal immigration custody after investigators determined that he illegally voted in the 2020 election, officials say.
The case has also brought renewed attention to Higgs’ criminal history, which includes resisting arrest, two counts of grand larceny and two counts of possessing a weapon during a violent crime.
The Trump administration is making clear that a green card is not a license to disregard American law.
“This alien was a guest in our country who forfeited his right to be in the U.S. when he committed these violent crimes and voted in the 2020 election,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.
“Any noncitizens who vote illegally in our elections will be arrested and removed. American elections are only for Americans.”
That last sentence should not require an explanation.
Homeland Security Investigations confirmed that Higgs illegally voted in the 2020 election. HSI’s Atlanta office arrested him in Decatur, Georgia, on September 3, and he is now in the custody of Enforcement and Removal Operations, the ICE division responsible for immigration removals.
Higgs entered the United States in October 1976 as a lawful permanent resident. DHS has since placed him in proceedings that could strip him of that status based on his criminal record and the voting offense.
Sen. Tommy Tuberville also emphasized the basic principle at stake, arguing that even a single illegal ballot can affect the legitimate vote of 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,” Tuberville said.
The administration says Higgs is far from an isolated case.
In August, Colombian national Carlos Jaramillo-Grajales was sentenced to three years in prison after an ICE investigation led to a guilty plea involving identity theft used to illegally vote in elections for more than two decades, according to DHS.
Gregory Kehoe, the U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Florida, put the government's position plainly.
“Federal immigration laws serve to safeguard our nation’s borders and protect the integrity of our government,” Kehoe said.
“Those who seek to circumvent, exploit, or break these laws will be prosecuted fully.”
Other cases have surfaced as federal officials increase their scrutiny of election-related offenses involving noncitizens. HSI cited a Slovakian national in New Jersey who was found to have illegally voted in the 2022 midterms, as well as an Australian national accused of casting ballots in both the 2022 and 2024 elections in Louisiana.
In Philadelphia, Mauritanian national Mahady Sacko was arrested through an ICE-FBI operation and charged with voter fraud.
The broader message from the Trump administration is unmistakable: immigration enforcement and election integrity are not separate issues when someone who is not eligible to vote casts a ballot in an American election.
For years, Americans have heard arguments about whether election safeguards are necessary, whether immigration enforcement is too aggressive, or whether federal officials should pursue relatively small numbers of election violations. But the fundamental rule is considerably simpler than the political arguments surrounding it.
Citizens vote. Laws matter. And an American election belongs to the American people.
The Trump administration is now putting that principle into enforcement rather than leaving it as a slogan. For voters who want confidence that their ballots are protected and that the rules apply to everyone, that is exactly the point.
