A federal judge has restricted Department of Homeland Security field operations investigating noncitizen voting across nine states, ruling that flawed government data risks intimidating legitimate voters ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The Wednesday order follows aggressive door-knocking campaigns and sweeping voter roll challenges by the Trump administration.
Hundreds of Homeland Security Investigations agents were pulled from criminal investigations to execute the door-to-door surge, internal documents reviewed by CBS News revealed. Armed federal agents have been visiting private residences in multiple states as part of an expanding initiative dubbed the Criminal Voter Fraud operation. The deployment relies on internal databases and lists generated by the Department of Homeland Security to question residents about their citizenship and voter registration history.
HSI in Northern California will investigate any allegations of noncitizen voting and is committed to ensuring the enforcement of federal election law. pic.twitter.com/gmrvDqTeSZ
Judge Halts Operations Across Nine States
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued an order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from conducting elections-related field interviews or field operations involving individuals who could be U.S. citizens. The restrictions apply to California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. The injunction is set to take effect on Friday afternoon, giving the administration time to appeal, and will remain in place through the midterm elections.
Martínez-Olguín noted that the data is widely known to inadvertently include eligible American citizens, leaving residents afraid that their names will be wrongly flagged, according to CNN. The judge wrote in her ruling that the administration relied on admittedly flawed and incomplete data to build target lists for investigators.
AMERICAN ELECTIONS ARE FOR AMERICANS. HSI is committed to protecting the integrity of our elections by investigating voter election fraud and holding violators accountable. pic.twitter.com/nghuH92Klp
The public’s interest in safe elections, free from interference or intimidation, far exceed Defendants’ purported interest in combating unlawful voting by non-U.S. citizens.
Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
States Push Back Against Federal Lists
California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan refused, citing severe unreliability in the federal rolls, after the Department of Justice demanded that state election officials verify the citizenship of approximately 20,000 listed individuals within 48 hours and sequester their mail-in ballots. The federal government has asserted that up to 250,000 noncitizens may be registered to vote nationwide, a figure disputed by state officials. Data verification battles have played out most intensely in California.
Federal authorities pressed forward with enforcement actions despite these inaccuracies. The Justice Department announced the arrest of 11 lawful permanent residents in Los Angeles on Monday, part of a total of 28 individuals indicted in California on voting-related charges. An internal analysis by Los Angeles County election authorities sampled 200 names from the federal list and found that 42.9% were already deregistered voters, while 71.2% had no voting history at all. Furthermore, 38.9% of records containing birthplace data listed individuals as U.S.-born.
Former Agents and Lawyers Criticize Voter Verification Tactics
Eric Balliet, a former Homeland Security Investigations agent with 23 years of experience, told CBS News that in my 23 years with HSI, I never engaged in or was aware of any incident or initiative that sent Special Agents to private residences to verify the eligibility of voters
. Legal advocacy groups and former law enforcement personnel have sharply criticized the tactics used in the lead-up to the election.
Jessica Marsden, a lawyer for the organization, stated that the federal government was inserting itself into state voter roll verification in an unprecedented manner designed to scare lawful voters from participating. Civil rights organizations, including Protect Democracy, filed lawsuits arguing that the armed home visits violate the Voting Rights Act by intimidating lawful voters.
AMERICAN ELECTIONS ARE FOR AMERICANS.HSI is committed to protecting the integrity of our elections by investigating voter election fraud and holding violators accountable. pic.twitter.com/BZNnusFZbA
HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found
, a department spokesperson told Yahoo, adding that under President Trump, HSI is committed to restoring integrity to our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders
. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security defended its actions through public statements emphasizing its commitment to electoral security.
Once again, this has nothing to do with immigration enforcement. Trump has turned DHS into his own federal police force. Whether he deploys them to find fraud, harass nonprofits, or question naturalized citizens, he keeps expanding the scope of their duties. https://t.co/C0qz42D2Rl