Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents have reportedly been executing an operation in several states to root out potential noncitizen voters ahead of the midterm elections.
DHS agents have been knocking on doors in various states asking residents about their immigration status and if they have registered to vote or cast votes in past elections, CBS News reported.
The home visits dialed up in September, a few months from Election Day. On Monday, the Department of Justice announced that DHS agents in California arrested more than 20 green card holders for allegedly illegally registering to vote or casting votes, per the report.
As part of that investigation, dozens of agents reportedly responded to the residence of a 72-year-old man from Belize. The man was arrested “in his pajamas” and is accused of illegally voting in the past four elections, according to the report.
“HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found,” a DHS spokesperson told the outlet. “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.”
Left-wing critics of the effort claim cracking down on noncitizen voting and sending armed federal agents to the doors of U.S. residents could be intimidating for legal voters.
“What we’re seeing now is the federal government is inserting itself into the state process for verifying their voter rolls in an unprecedented way,” said Jessica Marsden, a lawyer for Protect Democracy, a left-leaning advocacy group that is suing the DHS over the operation. “And they are doing it in a way that seems maximally designed to scare lawful voters from participating.”
A DHS spokesperson countered that claim, saying the effort is specifically aimed at “preventing the dilution of the votes of U.S. citizens.”
“Those who are here legally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear,” the spokesperson added.
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