Judge orders halt to DHS voter investigations in nine states

A federal judge has ordered immigration authorities to stop certain door-to-door voter investigations in nine states, finding that the Trump administration’s effort likely violates a federal law against voter intimidation. The order is on hold until 5 p.m. Friday to give the government time to seek an appeal.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued the ruling Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging a Department of Homeland Security operation aimed at identifying noncitizens who may have voted. Her order bars “elections-related field operations and field interviews” likely to involve people officials know, suspect or reasonably should suspect are U.S. citizens. It is set to remain in effect until polls close on Election Day, Nov. 3.

The order covers California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. CBS News documented agents approaching homes in multiple states and asking people about their immigration status and whether they had voted in recent elections.

Martínez-Olguín found that the operation likely ran afoul of a Voting Rights Act provision that prohibits intimidating, threatening or coercing people who help others vote or take part in voter mobilization. The plaintiffs include the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United. The Guardian reported that the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County also joined the lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs do not claim, nor does the Court find, that it is unlawful for federal officials to undertake investigations into unlawful voting in federal elections,” the judge wrote. Instead, she said, the groups sought to prevent investigations of citizens “in a way that intimidates and threatens” their members’ efforts to urge or help others to vote.

The judge also questioned the reliability of the lists used to identify people for investigation. According to The Guardian’s account of court filings, investigators were told to check whether naturalized citizens had voted before becoming citizens. During a phase that began in late August, agents were instructed to spend no more than 12 minutes reviewing each flagged person, The Guardian reported.

“Even under the best conditions, there is a high likelihood of error in review because there is no federal database containing citizenship status of U.S. residents,” Martínez-Olguín wrote. She said some citizens’ fears of being wrongly investigated were “well understood as intimidation” and had discouraged participation in campaign events and poll monitoring.

DHS said Thursday that it was “laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of U.S. citizens.” It added: “We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens.”

Beau Tremitiere, a lawyer for groups challenging the operation, said DHS had built its lists on “bad data” and sent agents to homes weeks before an election.

The administration has made noncitizen voting a priority, though CBS News reported little evidence for claims that it is widespread. The outlet said Justice Department figures show 156 people have been charged with voting-fraud-related offenses since the start of Trump’s administration. It also reported that the department announced the arrests this week of several dozen green card holders in California on allegations that they illegally registered to vote in federal elections.