Federal Judge Restricts DHS Operations Targeting Noncitizen Voters

A federal judge in California has placed strict limits on pre-election field operations conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, which the agency stated were aimed at locating noncitizens who have illegally voted across nine states. In recent weeks, armed Homeland Security Investigations officers have visited homes and carried out field operations to interview individuals suspected of unlawful voting.

In a 19-page order, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín wrote that the federal government was relying on flawed data for the initiative and that its efforts likely violated the Voting Rights Act by barring voter intimidation. The judge pointed to a whistleblower disclosure alleging rushed efforts to match data and create target lists that erroneously included U.S. citizens, alongside highly publicized arrests.

The judge stated that the use of unreliable data and public arrests create an objectively reasonable fear of law enforcement entanglements, which intimidates citizens from exercising their right to vote. HSI field operations were planned in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Judge Martínez-Olguín barred DHS officers in those states from conducting field operations targeting people they know, suspect, or should reasonably suspect are U.S. citizens, or operations based entirely on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services matching data without further investigation. The order is set to take effect on Friday and remain in place through election night, though the federal government retains the option to appeal.

The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed last month by a coalition including local governments, labor unions, and advocacy organizations. Lawyers litigating the case praised the decision. Beau Tremitiere, an attorney with Protect Democracy, said that the court affirmed a vital principle of democracy that citizens should be able to vote without armed government agents harassing them, noting that the agency built its lists on bad data.

Conversely, the Department of Homeland Security defended its mission, stating that the agency remains laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing noncitizens who vote and dilute the votes of U.S. citizens. The agency emphasized that only Americans should elect American leaders and maintained that it has no plans to question individuals it believes to be U.S. citizens. State reviews and audits have consistently found voting by noncitizens to be extremely rare.