Federal judge blocks DHS from harassing noncitizen-voter claims in nine states
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U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín ordered the Department of Homeland Security to stop field investigations into alleged noncitizen voters across nine states, warning that the agency’s own data is unreliable and may wrongly sweep up lawful U.S. citizens.
U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued an order directing the Department of Homeland Security to cease certain investigative actions aimed at identifying alleged noncitizen voters in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. The judge said the department’s data set "is widely known to inadvertently include U.S. citizens" and that it "leaves citizens afraid that their name will be wrongly included in the hundreds of thousands identified for investigation."
The ruling sharply restricts DHS field activities such as interviews and bars the agency from pursuing individuals if there is a possibility they are U.S. citizens. The order will take effect on Friday afternoon and remain in place through the upcoming midterm elections, giving the Trump administration time to file an appeal.
DHS has been a central component of the administration’s efforts to push claims of noncitizen voting, a claim that has been repeatedly described as unfounded. The new order represents a judicial check on the agency’s aggressive approach.
CNN contacted DHS for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.