An illegal immigrant stole an identity and illegally voted in two elections, throwing fuel to the fire on the contentious debate in Washington on providing voter registration without checking identification.

Angelica Maria Francisco, 42, who most recently lived in Alabama, admitted to the scheme as she pleaded to nine counts levied against her by the Justice Department, which charged her in federal court with falsely claiming American citizenship and aggravated identity theft, according to Fox News. She then used that stolen identity to vote in both the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections.

Ms. Francisco assumed the identity of an unnamed U.S. citizen around 2011 to obtain an American passport. She then used the fake passport to travel back and forth to her native Guatemala numerous times. In 2016, she brazenly registered in Alabama under her stolen identity.

Francisco even renewed the passport in 2021 using the sham identity.

“I have been very clear that a top priority of this Office is ensuring only eligible American citizens are voting in Alabama elections,” said Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen in a statement.

Republican lawmakers argue that the executive order, signed by President Biden in 2021, requires state agencies to send voter registration information to anyone who makes a request, regardless of whether they provide any sort of identification.

Mr. Allen has spoken out in favor of election integrity and raised issues with Executive Order 14019, an executive order from the Biden Administration that expands opportunities for voter registration and highlights the potential for fraud.

“We have received complaints from concerned Alabama voters who received voter registration forms in the mail addressed to a deceased relative,” he said in a statement. “The Biden Administration is knowingly and purposefully enacting policies that result in supplying non-citizens with a mechanism to register to vote in our state and all 49 other states.”

“To say I am deeply concerned is an understatement.”

To combat the executive order, conservative Senators Cruz of Texas and Lee of Utah have been pushing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require states to start obtaining in-person proof of citizenship for voter registration and remove non-citizens from voter rolls. 

Last month, they made a push for the SAVE Act to be attached to a spending bill extension, which could trigger a government shutdown if not approved.

“The Senate can either ensure only eligible American citizens are voting in our elections — or shut down the government,” Congressman Ralph Norman of South Carolina said in a statement Friday. “To me, it’s a no-brainer.”