The Trump administration's federal crackdown on noncitizen voting has resulted in 160 arrests and 70 formal Department of Justice charges as of September 2026. While federal officials like DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin argue these actions protect election integrity, election experts point out that the small number of cases among 211 million voters proves voter fraud remains exceedingly rare. Meanwhile, individual prosecutions proceed in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts amid ongoing political tension with blue states.
Federal Directives and Actions
- ▪In August 2026, the Department of Homeland Security ordered U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to conduct manual investigations of state voter rolls, according to a federal whistleblower's report
- ▪President Donald Trump signed two election-related executive orders to address noncitizen voting, both of which face legal challenges.
- ▪The Department of Homeland Security redirected federal resources and hundreds of employees to search for election-related offenses at the direction of President Donald Trump.
Federal Enforcement and Charges
- ▪The U.S. Department of Justice has formally charged 70 individuals with unlawful voting and registration offenses since the start of the Trump administration in January 2025
- ▪The Trump administration's federal enforcement efforts have resulted in approximately 1,600 voter fraud cases and 160 arrests as of September 2026.
Specific Noncitizen Voting Cases
- ▪Homeland Security Investigations arrested a Nigerian noncitizen in Lynn, Massachusetts, for illegally voting in multiple elections, including the 2024 presidential election.
- ▪Evelyn Miller, a 37-year-old lawful permanent resident from the Philippines, pleaded guilty on September 16, 2026, to illegally voting in Pennsylvania during the 2024 general election.
- ▪Three Georgia residents from Mexico, Venezuela, and Antigua and Barbuda were charged in September 2026 with illegally voting in federal elections.
Reactions to Noncitizen Voting Claims
- ▪Democratic governors, including Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey and Andy Beshear of Kentucky, signed a letter in July 2026 rebuking President Donald Trump's claims of widespread noncitizen voting.
- ▪Election law experts and former election officials state that the 160 arrests in the Trump administration's crackdown out of 211 million active registered voters demonstrate that noncitizen voting is extremely rare
Texas Voter Fraud Charges
- ▪The United States Department of Justice charged eight noncitizens residing in Texas with voter fraud.
- ▪A Texas state investigation of 2,724 registered voters flagged as noncitizens resulted in 117 cases referred for investigation and seven individuals charged in mid-September 2026.
New Jersey Registration Error
- ▪New Jersey has refused to cooperate with federal officials to investigate and resolve a software error in New Jersey's Department of Motor Vehicles registration system
- ▪New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced a software error in the state's Department of Motor Vehicles that registered thousands of ineligible immigrants to vote between June 2023 and June 2024.
Debatable claims
- ▪The Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizen voting is justified
- ▪States should cooperate with federal efforts to cross-check voter rolls
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