The Division of Homeland Safety is utilizing the case of a Colombian nationwide who allegedly forged a poll within the 2024 presidential election in Massachusetts to promote the way it has up to date a program meant to cease voter fraud.
“Illegal aliens have exploited outdated systems to defraud Americans & taint our elections,” the division wrote in an X submit on Friday. “DHS is revamping the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to ensure government officials can swiftly verify statuses, stopping entitlements and voter fraud.”
Lina Maria Orovio-Hernandez, 59, is accused of receiving greater than $400,000 in stolen federal advantages and acquiring a Massachusetts Actual ID and eight different state IDs whereas she lived within the Bay State for over 20 years underneath a stolen identification.
The girl allegedly used the stolen identification to submit a fraudulent voter registration in January 2023 and forged a fraudulent poll in final yr’s presidential election, in keeping with the Massachusetts U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace.
Earlier this spring, DHS overhauled the SAVE program in partnership with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Companies, Division of Authorities Effectivity, and the Social Safety Administration, to forestall non-citizens from exploiting taxpayer advantages and voting illegally.
The feds tout SAVE as a “critical tool for verifying lawful U.S. citizenship and immigration status … to help ensure the eligibility of individuals applying for certain public benefits and licenses.”
Native and state authorities can enter Social Safety numbers slightly than a DHS figuring out quantity, which most businesses don’t acquire, to confirm citizenship or immigration standing. Companies are additionally allowed to submit a couple of case at a time, “making the process more efficient,” in keeping with the feds.
“For years, states have pleaded for tools to help identify and stop aliens from hijacking our elections,” USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser stated in an announcement. “Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, USCIS is moving quickly to eliminate voter fraud. We expect further improvements soon and remain committed to restoring trust in American elections.”
Along with allegedly voting in final yr’s election, Orovio-Hernandez is accused of improperly receiving $259,589 in Part 8 rental help advantages from October 2011 by way of January 2025; $101,257 in Social Safety incapacity advantages from July 2014 by way of January 2025; and $43,348 in Supplemental Vitamin Help Program (SNAP) advantages from April 2005 by way of January 2025.
In an announcement, Massachusetts U.S. Lawyer Leah Foley referred to as Orovio-Hernandez’s alleged crimes an “affront to every individual who plays by the rules and undermines many of the programs meant to support the most vulnerable members of our society.”
“The right to vote is one of the many privileges of being a U.S. citizen,” Foley said. “Government funded programs for those in need are intended to be safety nets for those living in our country lawfully – not support an illegal alien without a right to be here.”
“Ms. Orovio-Hernandez was entitled to none of these privileges as a Colombian citizen who was unlawfully in this country,” she added.
Orovio-Hernandez has been charged in a superseding indictment with one rely of false illustration of a Social Safety quantity; one rely of creating a false assertion in an software for a United States passport; one rely of aggravated identification theft; three counts of receiving stolen authorities cash or property; one rely of fraudulent voter registration; and one rely of fraudulent voting.
Orovio-Hernandez was beforehand charged in an indictment in February, and she or he has since remained in federal custody.
“Stealing someone’s identity to unlawfully obtain Social Security benefits is not just theft—it’s a long-term abuse of a system meant to support those truly in need,” stated Amy Connelly, particular agent answerable for the Social Safety Administration Workplace of the Inspector Basic, Boston-New York Discipline Division.
