The Department of Homeland Security has launched an extensive effort to identify noncitizens suspected of registering to vote or casting ballots illegally, deploying hundreds of federal agents to examine voter records and interview people at their homes. So far, the Trump administration has brought charges against about 236 people nationwide for election-related offenses, according to the department. The figure includes noncitizens accused of registering but not voting.
The number is a tiny fraction of the more than 158 million votes cast in the 2024 general election. It is also far below a claim made in July by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who said, without presenting evidence, that more than 250,000 possible noncitizens were registered to vote in just four states.
Most of the 236 charges were filed in the nine weeks before the report, according to the Justice Department. The number of people ultimately convicted could be lower. Noncitizen voting is prohibited by law and is exceptionally rare, according to studies cited in the report.
The investigation is a joint effort by the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice. DHS says it is working to combat election fraud and increase deportations of noncitizens who have voted or registered unlawfully. Critics, however, argue that the scale of the operation could intimidate voters and help lay the groundwork for challenging election results.
The campaign has drawn on agencies and personnel whose usual work includes deportations, border management, disaster response, immigration applications, national security investigations and benefit fraud. Agents who typically investigate crimes such as child exploitation and smuggling have also reviewed more than 150 organizations that federal officials suspect could be helping noncitizens register unlawfully.
The effort has faced legal setbacks. Last month, a federal judge in California restricted field interviews in nine states as part of an initiative to investigate noncitizen voters. In September, another federal judge ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency could not withhold disaster-prevention funds from states that refused to change election procedures, including voter citizenship checks.
In Nevada, after DHS said nearly 16,000 registered voters might be noncitizens, the department sent state officials a list of 185 names it said had undergone rigorous manual review. State officials later concluded that all 185 were U.S. citizens.
Former election law attorney David Becker said the effort was aimed at undermining confidence in an election that concerns the administration. Wendy R. Weiser of the Brennan Center for Justice said the small number of cases raised questions about the operation’s purpose. Former DHS official Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II defended investigating the issue, while Eric Balliet, a former Homeland Security Investigations employee, questioned whether federal investigators should be diverted from national security work to pursue such a rare offense.
Sources: Folha Mundo.