菲利普·马塞洛 纽约州锡拉丘兹的一名女子称她只是最近才得知自己并非出生在美国，已被指控非法投票，这是特朗普政府在中期选举前搜寻非公民选民过程中最新宣称的逮捕案例之一。
PHILIP MARCELO A Syracuse, New York, woman who says she only recently learned she wasn’t born in the U.S. has been charged with voting illegally, one of the latest arrests touted by the Trump administration as it hunts for noncitizen voters ahead of the midterm elections.
根据刑事起诉书，玛尔瓦·库克告诉国土安全部调查人员，她幼年时被收养，一直以为自己是美国公民。
Marva Cook was adopted as a toddler and had always assumed she was a U.S. citizen, she told Homeland Security investigators earlier this month, according to the criminal complaint.
但在寻找生母的过程中，这位现年66岁、几十年前曾在锡拉丘兹大学女子篮球队大放异彩的女子表示，她发现自己持有德国出生证明。
But in searching for her biological mother, the 66-year-old, who starred at Syracuse University’s women’s basketball decades ago, said she discovered she had a German birth certificate.
联邦检察官称，库克已持有绿卡数年，但尽管没有公民身份，她仍在最近的选举中投了票。
Federal prosecutors say Cook has had a green card for several years now, but she still cast ballots in recent elections despite not having citizenship.
她面临一项联邦指控，即外国人投票罪，源于她在2022年中期选举中的投票行为。
She faces a single federal charge of voting by an alien stemming from her vote in the 2022 midterms.
该轻罪最高可判处一年监禁并处以最高10万美元罚款（如被定罪）。根据联邦法律，库克还可能面临驱逐出境。
The misdemeanor offense carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a fine up to $100,000, if convicted. Cook can also face deportation, under federal law .
库克周五接受电话联系时，拒绝讨论刑事案件、她的投票记录或她过去申请入籍的努力。
Reached by phone Friday, Cook declined to discuss the criminal case, her voting record or her past efforts at becoming a citizen.
但她说，对周三的出庭经历“并不高兴”，尽管她几小时前刚自首，却在法庭上被戴上了手铐和脚镣。
But she said she was “not thrilled” by her court appearance Wednesday as she was placed in shackles despite having voluntarily turned herself in just hours earlier.
“这是一段艰难的时光，”库克说。“我崇尚善良与服务，以己度人。”她还表示，感激社区成员的大力支持，周三有不少人陪同她出庭。
“It was a difficult time,” Cook said. “I’m about kindness and service and doing for others as I want to be treated.”She also said she appreciated the outpouring of support of community members, a number of whom accompanied her to court Wednesday.
“祈祷和支持是我度过难关的重要部分，”库克说。“我深信上帝会帮我渡过难关。”库克的律师保罗·塔克周五也拒绝透露刑事案件的细节，只表示目前没有即将到来的听证会或提交截止日期。他补充说，目前没有待决的移民程序，但库克已聘请移民律师以防情况发生变化。
“The prayers and the support is a big part of how I will get through this,” Cook said. “I have a deep faith that God will get me through it.”Cook’s lawyer, Paul Tuck, also declined to discuss details of the criminal case Friday other than to say there are no upcoming hearings or filing deadlines. There are no pending immigration proceedings, he added, but Cook has an immigration lawyer in the event that changes.
美国国土安全部和美国移民及海关执法局的发言人没有立即回复置评邮件。
Spokespersons for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
负责起诉此案的纽约州北区联邦检察官第一助理检察官约翰·A·萨科内三世表示，库克的被捕表明“选民欺诈在该州猖獗”。
First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III, whose upstate New York office is prosecuting the case, said Cook’s arrest showed “voter fraud is rampant” in the state.
其他联邦机构在社交媒体上转发放大了该声明，尽管政府自身的调查已表明此类情况极其罕见，且未改变选举结果。
Other federal agencies amplified the statement on social media, even as the administration’s own investigations have demonstrated that such instances are incredibly rare and been shown not to change the outcome of elections.
“我们不能也不会允许美国公民的选票被非公民非法投票抵消，”国土安全部在X平台的一篇帖文中写道，该帖文包含了萨科内的声明。
“We cannot and will not allow the votes of American citizens to be canceled out by noncitizens illegally voting in our elections,” the Homeland Security wrote in a post on X that included Sarcone’s statement.
在加利福尼亚州，联邦当局周一指控二十多名合法永久居民非法投票或登记投票。本月早些时候，明尼苏达州有10人因在过去三次选举中非法投票被起诉。
In California, federal authorities on Monday charged more than two dozen legal permanent residents with illegally casting ballots or registering to vote. Earlier this month, 10 people were charged in Minnesota with illegally voting over the last three elections.
与此同时，库克的支持者形容她是当地社区的重要一员，她在那里生活了几乎一生，并曾是大学篮球明星。
Cook’s supporters, meanwhile, described her as a vital part of the local community where she had lived nearly all of her life and had starred in college basketball.
锡拉丘兹大学体育部门证实，库克在1979-80赛季是球队的头号得分手，场均得到15分。
The Syracuse University athletics department confirmed Cook was the team’s leading scorer in the 1979-80 season, averaging 15 points per game.
万圣教堂牧师弗雷德·戴利表示，库克是教区活跃成员，多年来一直是教会复活节期间的首选“复活节兔子”，在春季假期身穿全套服装扮演该角色。
Fred Daley, pastor at All Saints Church, said Cook is an active member of the parish who for years has been the church’s go-to Easter Bunny, decked out in full costume during the spring holiday season.
“如果政府想树立个典型，他们选错人了，”他说。“她是个了不起的人的典范。她在整个社区备受尊敬。” 认识库克近20年的教区居民戴尔·艾弗斯形容她是一位“服务型人物”，从不“追求聚光灯下的关注”。她说，库克作为基督教青年会（YMCA）社区学校项目主任，支持低收入家庭和青少年。
“If the government wanted to make a case, they chose the wrong person,” he said. “She’s a poster child of an amazing person. She’s highly respected throughout the community.”Dale Avers, a parishioner who has known Cook for almost 20 years, described her as a “person of service” who “never sought limelight.”She said Cook supports low-income families and youth as the YMCA’s community school program director.
“我完全震惊于他们竟投入这么大力气搞这事，”艾弗斯说。“他们了解事情的来龙去脉。没有故意，没有恶意，也没有欺骗。”
“I’m in total shock that they’re putting this much effort into this,” Avers said. “They understood the story. There was no intent. There’s no malice. There was no deception involved.”