SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Kamlesh Shah sat next to his pastor in the public gallery in federal court in Sacramento on Friday, his gray hair neatly combed and falling slightly over his collar.

The latest Sacramento resident to appear in court as part of the Trump administration’s campaign to identify and criminally charge noncitizens who have cast ballots, Shah, 68, shook a little and moved his jaw in the way that people sometimes do who have lost teeth. He fanned himself with a folded hat and waited for his case to be called.

Four defendants preceded him: a man accused of violating parole by taking drugs and associating with felons, a 24-year-old accused of sexually abusing a 10-year-old boy and recording it and two men charged with conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

Shah, a green-card holder who has been in the U.S. for 30 years, is one of about 40 people arrested or charged by federal prosecutors in California as part of a fast-moving series of criminal and civil cases filed in federal courts in the weeks immediately before and after Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The cases grew out of a database developed by the Department of Homeland Security that purports to identify as many as 20,000 people in California who may have registered or voted as noncitizens in a federal election, a misdemeanor crime. The Justice Department tried several times to persuade federal judges to force the state to set aside the ballots of individuals named on its list, but was rebuffed, culminating with a final rejection on Monday by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Prosecutors did succeed, however, in filing charges against more than three dozen people on the list, including Shah.

Charges against three Sacramento residents

The charges, which involved a dozen people in the sprawling federal court district that includes Sacramento and Fresno, were widely publicized by the Justice Department in livestreamed news conferences and news releases.

The department’s lawyers also referenced them in court as evidence that their list was accurate, and threatened to prosecute elections officials if they knowingly processed ballots from people in the database identified as likely to be noncitizens.

In Sacramento, charges were filed against two residents in addition to Shah, Antonio Rivas Garcia and Meryll Quirong Costi. They were both taken into custody and appeared in court with chains around their legs and waists before they were released pending trial. Costi’s attorney, Kyle Knapp, said the experience was mortifying.

On Friday, Shah, who was born in India, pleaded not guilty to the single charge against him, voting by an alien in a federal election. The misdemeanor carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

When Magistrate Judge Allison Claire called his name, Shah, who has a heart condition and difficulty walking, rose carefully. He held his attorney’s hand for stability and used tiny mincing steps to approach the defense table.

He did not speak.

Immigration rights advocates present

But in an interview with The Sacramento Bee after he was summoned in the case last month, Shah said he was in the midst of his citizenship proceedings during the leadup to the 2024 presidential election, when he became inspired by the campaign of Kamala Harris.

He went to a polling place with his new driver’s license, registered and cast a ballot, he said during the interview. He has not voted since, although the state is still sending ballots to the apartment he shares in a South Land Park senior living facility.

Shah’s case drew the interest of immigration rights advocates who sat in court observing the proceedings.

“We want the family to know that they are not alone,” said Anna Marie Smith, who sat in the gallery as Shah entered his plea.

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