Federal Judge Blocks DHS Field Sweeps Aimed at Noncitizen Voters
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A California federal judge halted Department of Homeland Security field operations that targeted people suspected of voting as noncitizens, warning that the government was relying on flawed data and actions that could amount to voter intimidation. The order underscores deep concerns that election-policing tactics are being used to harass eligible voters under the guise of integrity.
A U.S. District Court in California issued a 19-page order restricting the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) pre-election field activities aimed at identifying noncitizens who may have voted illegally in nine states. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín, a Biden-appointed judge, said the government relied on "flawed" data and that the operations likely violated the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voter intimidation.
The order prohibits DHS officers in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin from conducting operations that target people they "know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens," or that are based solely on USCIS data matching without further verification.
USCIS official Nicolas Bartell testified that his team manually reviews records before referring them to Homeland Security Investigations, but acknowledged a "low possibility" that citizens could be mistakenly identified as potential aliens. He argued that safeguards mitigate the risk and that the mission to protect election integrity outweighs any remaining concerns.
The ruling follows a lawsuit filed by a coalition that includes San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, the city of San Francisco, nursing unions and the Voto Latino Foundation, with Protect Democracy and the National Immigration Law Center representing the plaintiffs.
"Today, the courts affirmed a vital principle of our democracy: Voting is a fundamental right that citizens — whether born here or naturalized — should be able to exercise without armed government agents harassing them," said Beau Tremitiere, a lawyer with Protect Democracy.
The order takes effect on Friday and will remain in place through election night, though the federal government may appeal. The decision arrives amid broader legal disputes over efforts to segregate ballots believed to belong to likely noncitizens and recent charges against green-card holders accused of illegal voting in California.