19 foreign nationals charged with illegal voting during 2016 election

Nineteen foreign nationals have been charged with illegal voting in the 2016 election, the Justice Department said Friday.

The defendants are from numerous countries, including Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Nigeria and Germany.

Some of them were charged in an indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Wilmington, N.C. They were accused of filing a false claim of citizenship in order to register, and then voting.

Others were charged separately for illegally voting.

The announcement comes amid an intense debate at the state level over voter fraud and efforts by Republican lawmakers to impose new voter ID restrictions.

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