Noncitizen Voting Case: Cuban Green-Card Holder Charged in Missouri After 20 Years of Ballots. DHS and USCIS Differ on How He Got Here.
A Cuban-born lawful permanent resident who federal officials say registered to vote in Missouri in 2004, claimed to be a U.S. citizen twice and cast ballots in at least 15 elections has been charged with two counts of voting by an alien, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday. DHS responded to TDFP with its press release and did not answer questions about how he was identified, whether removal proceedings have begun or how many such arrests the agency has made this year. The Digital Free Press also asked the Cass County election authority how two registrations cleared. Cass County Clerk Kathy Lambertz declined to answer, telling TDFP in an email Thursday: "As this is an active investigation, I am unable to provide a response at this time."
Andres Garcia, 64, was arrested Oct. 6 by Homeland Security Investigations in Kansas City and charged in federal court in the Western District of Missouri with voting illegally in the November 2022 and November 2024 federal elections, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, which announced the case the same day. He has not been convicted and is presumed innocent. Each count carries up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. The Kansas City Star and KMBC reported the charge after the Oct. 6 announcement; DHS issued its own statement on Oct. 14.
WHAT THE NONCITIZEN VOTING CHARGES SAY
Garcia was born in Cuba to Cuban parents and came to the United States as a child, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He applied for and was granted lawful permanent resident status in 2009. Before that, in 2004, he registered to vote in Cass County, south of Kansas City, and he "has voted regularly for the last 20 years in at least 15 elections, including at least 13 federal elections," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
"Garcia knew he was not a United States citizen but nevertheless claimed to be one when registering to vote in 2004 and again in 2013," the office said. Lawful permanent residents may not vote in federal elections, and Missouri does not allow them to vote in state or local elections either.
"When an individual who is not legally permitted to vote casts a ballot, it undermines the public's confidence in our elections," said R. Matthew Price, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Nichols is prosecuting the case, which HSI investigated with help from USCIS.
TWO AGENCIES, TWO ACCOUNTS OF HIS ARRIVAL
The federal agencies describe Garcia's arrival differently. USCIS's Oct. 9 release and the U.S. Attorney's Office say only that he "immigrated to the United States during his childhood." DHS's Oct. 14 statement says he "illegally entered the United States through Florida in September 1969," applied for permanent residence in February 2009, and had it "approved in July 2009 by the Obama Administration and backdated to August 2006." The USCIS release does not describe his entry as illegal and does not mention a backdated approval.
"He illegally entered the country in 1969 and was then granted legal status by the Obama Administration," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement. "Let this be a message to any non-citizens out there who are thinking about voting in our elections: If you illegally vote, we will arrest you and you will be charged. Only American citizens should be electing American leaders."
"Election integrity is nonnegotiable," said HSI Kansas City Acting Special Agent in Charge Rick Sabatini.
WHAT DHS DID NOT ANSWER
On Oct. 14, TDFP emailed the DHS press office four questions, with a deadline of 3 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, Oct. 15:
1. DHS says he entered illegally in 1969; USCIS's Oct. 9 release says he immigrated as a child and got permanent residence in 2009. Can you clarify how he entered and when his status was granted?
2. How did HSI identify him: a SAVE check, a state or county referral, or a tip?
3. Has DHS started removal proceedings or a review of his green card?
4. How many noncitizen-voting arrests has HSI made nationwide this year?
DHS responded to TDFP with its press release and did not answer those questions. TDFP asked again and will update this story with any response.
THE QUESTION FOR CASS COUNTY
The federal releases do not say how a non-citizen's registration was accepted in 2004 or renewed in 2013, or what flagged it two decades later. TDFP asked Cass County Clerk and election authority Kathy Lambertz what citizenship checks applied to registrations in 2004 and 2013, what checks the county uses now, when Garcia's registration was flagged or removed and by whom, and whether the county has found other noncitizen registrations or referred any to prosecutors. Lambertz replied Thursday: "As this is an active investigation, I am unable to provide a response at this time."
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Department of Homeland Security statement (Oct. 14, 2026) and its email reply to TDFP (Oct. 14, 2026); Cass County Clerk Kathy Lambertz's email reply to TDFP (Oct. 15, 2026); U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri press release (Oct. 6, 2026); U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services news release (Oct. 9, 2026).
Images: Cover photo of the Cass County Courthouse in Harrisonville, Missouri, by Kbh3rd, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Department of Homeland Security seal, public domain.
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