Carlos Felipe Jaramillo-Grajales, an undocumented Colombian national, has been handed a three-year prison sentence following his conviction for identity theft and misrepresenting his citizenship. Authorities from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that he leveraged this deception to participate in U.S. elections over a period spanning approximately two decades.
"Because of his fraud, he was able to obtain a driver’s license and vote in our elections," stated Secretary Markwayne Mullin of the Department of Homeland Security.
Mullin further emphasized the agency's commitment, asserting, "DHS will always fight to protect the integrity of our elections, because election security is national security. Only Americans should be electing American leaders."
The Deception Unraveled
Jaramillo-Grajales initiated his fraudulent activities in March 2003 by appropriating the name, date of birth, and Social Security number of a U.S. citizen to acquire a passport. Once this document was secured, he utilized the fabricated information to obtain a Florida driver's license and subsequently register to vote.
According to DHS, he went on to cast ballots in the 2020 election and several other previous elections. Investigators also detailed that he employed the stolen identity for various additional purposes beyond voting.
Tim Hemker, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations, commented on the case, stating, "This criminal illegal alien spent years exploiting a stolen identity of a United States citizen to obtain government documents [and] claim benefits."
In one notable instance from June 2017, Jaramillo-Grajales used his false identity to secure lawful permanent residency for his fiancée, who later became his wife.
Broader Implications for Election Security
This sentencing occurs amidst ongoing discussions in Washington, D.C., regarding the necessity of new legislation to enhance voter verification processes. The case underscores the lengths some non-citizens may go to acquire state identification.
Secretary Mullin previously highlighted this pattern in a letter dispatched to secretaries of state in California, New Jersey, Nevada, and Pennsylvania earlier this year. His findings indicated that as many as 190,830 non-citizens had registered to vote in California alone.
A Pattern of Fraud
The Department of Homeland Security presented Jaramillo-Grajales’s conviction as part of a broader initiative aimed at combating instances of undocumented immigrants fabricating information to vote or unlawfully access U.S. benefits.
The agency cited similar cases, including Marian Chariton, an individual from Slovakia, who illegally voted in the 2022 New Jersey election after falsely claiming U.S. citizenship. Another example was Jose Ceballos, a Mexican national who admitted guilt to three counts of disorderly election for falsely asserting citizenship in Kansas.
"Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of HSI, along with our federal partners, this criminal is out of our communities and, at the end of his sentence, will be removed from our country," Mullin concluded.
Collaborative Investigation
The Florida U.S. attorney’s office reported that Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General conducted the investigation into Jaramillo-Grajales’s case. Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier was responsible for the prosecution.
