Zoila Meyer did not realise she could deported for voting

Zoila Meyer, 40, was investigated by immigration officials acting on a tip-off after she won election to the city council of Adelanto in 2004.

Ms Meyer, originally from Cuba, quit after 10 weeks in office and applied to become a naturalized citizen.

But this month, she was arrested after investigators turned up at her home.

The mother-of-four had pleaded guilty in April last year to illegally voting in the election three years ago as a non-US citizen.

If they can do this to me, they can do it to anybody

Zoila Meyer

She was placed on probation and fined after admitting a misdemeanour charge of fraudulent voting.

But on 18 June, immigration officials showed up at her home and told her to go to their San Bernardino office, where she was handcuffed and arrested.

"I'm scared," she told the Associated Press. "How can they just pluck me out of my family, my kids?

"If they can do this to me, they can do it to anybody."

Meyer was bailed and is due to appear on 18 July before an immigration judge, who will decide whether she should be deported to Canada, the last point of entry into the US on her record.

Ms Meyer currently lives in the San Bernardino County desert town of Apple Valley, where she has been studying for degrees to work in the justice system as a forensic nurse.

Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said: "People are arrested on immigration charges from all walks of life.

"She can plead her case before an immigration judge, if she feels that she has reason to seek release for removal."