Lizabeth Almonte Rosa
Introduction
Lizabeth Almonte Rosa, a 24-year-old resident of West New York, New Jersey, whom the Justice Department release describes as a naturalized citizen who immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic, was charged by criminal complaint with voting by an alien in a federal election and unlawfully procuring citizenship, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. According to the complaint’s allegations, Almonte Rosa was a non-citizen when she registered to vote and when she voted in 2022, and the unlawfully procuring citizenship count concerns how her citizenship was later obtained. Almonte Rosa had her initial appearance on October 7, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacey D. Adams in federal court in Newark.
Background Information
The case was brought under the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Election Integrity Task Force, “a coalition of federal law enforcement partners focused on preserving and protecting the integrity of elections conducted in the District of New Jersey.”
In order to register, and to vote in federal elections, a person must be a United States citizen.
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted. The complaint’s charges are accusations only, and Almonte Rosa is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court, Almonte Rosa entered the United States from the Dominican Republic on an IR2 visa. She was a non-citizen when she was registered to vote, and the answers provided in her voter registration form falsely certified and attested that she was a United States citizen.
Almonte Rosa voted in-person in the primary election held in June 2022 and in the general election held in November 2022. At the time she cast her ballots, she was not a United States citizen and was therefore not authorized to vote in federal elections. After illegally voting in federal elections, Almonte Rosa applied to become a United States citizen by submitting an application for naturalization, an N-400, which requires the applicant to swear under penalty of perjury that the information provided in the application is complete, true, and correct. In her N-400 application, Almonte Rosa falsely claimed that she had never registered to vote or voted in any federal elections.
Public Reaction and Consequences
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy; and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, with the investigation. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division.
If convicted, Almonte Rosa faces a maximum sentence of 1 year’s imprisonment and a fine of up to $100,000 on the voting by an alien count, and a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000 on the unlawfully procuring citizenship count.
Current Status
Almonte Rosa has been charged by criminal complaint and had her initial appearance on October 7, 2026, before Magistrate Judge Stacey D. Adams in Newark. No plea or trial date is described in the release, and the case is otherwise pending as of its October 7, 2026, announcement.
Impact on Their Career/Life
The charges reach both of Almonte Rosa’s 2022 ballots and the naturalization application she submitted afterward, in which she is alleged to have denied under penalty of perjury that she had ever registered to vote or voted in a federal election. The unlawfully procuring citizenship count, which concerns how her citizenship was later obtained, carries the greater potential sentence of the two charges, with a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey, “Hudson County Woman Charged with Illegally Voting in Federal Election and Unlawful Procurement of U.S. Citizenship” — source