Internal Department of Homeland Security records obtained by Democracy Forward reveal a sweeping federal election-fraud operation. Homeland Security Investigations analyzed nearly 100 million records and scrutinized dozens of voter-registration nonprofits. The agency considered deploying undercover agents against voting groups in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and successfully infiltrated anti-ICE "Rapid Response Network" activist groups in Minneapolis. While the Trump administration aggressively targets alleged noncitizen voting, critics point out that documented cases remain exceedingly rare.
HSI investigation of voter-registration groups
- ▪Homeland Security Investigations explored deploying undercover agents and confidential sources in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to gather evidence, disrupt activities, and trace financial backing of organizations suspected of recruiting noncitizens to register to vote
- ▪Homeland Security Investigations scrutinized dozens of nonprofit voter-registration groups in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio, but several reviews, including those of New Jersey groups, turned up no evidence of wrongdoing
- ▪A Homeland Security Investigations agent pressed election officials in Franklin County, Ohio, for information on groups including the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, a progressive voter-turnout organization that federal agents raided in June 2026
Heather Honey's role
- ▪Department of Homeland Security personnel sought to add officials working under Heather Honey to the distribution of Homeland Security Investigations' weekly voter-fraud reports on the Trump administration's election-fraud operation
- ▪Homeland Security Investigations reviewed tens of millions of records, including 50.6 million from a Justice Department dataset and 48.4 million obtained by senior counselor Heather Honey, to identify noncitizens suspected of illegally registering or voting
Minneapolis anti-ICE demonstrations
- ▪Anti-ICE demonstrations and Rapid Response Networks in Minneapolis escalated to coordinated surveillance, harassment, and obstruction of federal law enforcement starting in December 2025
- ▪Homeland Security Investigations undercover agents successfully infiltrated anti-ICE "Rapid Response Network" groups in Minneapolis to investigate allegations of interstate stalking, harassment, and doxxing of federal officers
Trump administration election enforcement efforts
- ▪The Trump administration has stepped up enforcement against green-card holders accused of illegally voting, including through arrests and removal proceedings
- ▪President Donald Trump has pushed the SAVE America Act to implement proof-of-citizenship requirements and tighter rules for mail ballots as part of an aggressive effort to tighten election controls
Noncitizen voting measures
- ▪Hardline MAGA Republicans have floated deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to polling places, though the Trump administration stated there are no plans to do so
- ▪The conservative Heritage Foundation database recorded 24 cases involving noncitizen voting from 2003 through 2023, which the organization describes as a sampling rather than a comprehensive count
Debatable claims
- ▪Noncitizen voting is a significant threat to U.S. election integrity
- ▪Homeland Security Investigations should investigate domestic voter registration organizations
- ▪Undercover infiltration of anti-ICE activist groups does more harm than good
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