As voters headed to the polls on Nov. 3, federal officials warned that any noncitizens found to have illegally registered or voted in federal elections would face prosecution.
“After this election, we’ll be gathering all the data. We’ll be gathering the voting logs, and we’ll be going through those and making sure that no illegals voted,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said during an interview on Fox News.
“If you vote illegally, we will find you,” Mullin added later in a post on X. “Only Americans should decide American elections.”
Mullin noted that penalties for illegal voter registration and illegal voting include up to five years of prison time.
“If you vote illegally, we will find you. We will track you down, arrest you, and prosecute you,” Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which is part of DHS, said in another post on X. “There will be no escape.”
The Trump administration has dedicated resources to identifying noncitizens on voter rolls and charging some who have registered to vote, voted, or both.
Department of Justice officials said Monday they had recently charged 63 people, including four illegal immigrants, in connection with election crimes such as illegal voting.
“These foreign nationals allegedly took advantage of the trust of the American people and flouted the laws that govern our nation’s elections,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “This Department of Justice will continue investigating and prosecuting voter fraud to restore confidence in our electoral system.”
Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, federal prosecutors have brought such charges against 239 people.
Trump, Mullin, and others have alleged that noncitizen voter registration is rampant. DHS said over the summer that a preliminary review of voter rolls in just four states, including California, identified as many as 256,463 noncitizens registered to vote.
Federal officials have presented lower numbers in court filings and letters to states. Mullin said in October the number was actually north of 300,000.
State and county leaders have pushed back, saying that the lists include U.S. citizens and people who are not on voter rolls, although some have acknowledged that the only proof of citizenship they require for voter registration is attestation that the applicant is a citizen.
Courts have blocked the administration from compelling state officials to take action, such as setting aside ballots, after being presented with lists of suspected noncitizens.
“If the United States believes different procedures are necessary for vote-by-mail ballots, we believe it should take that suggestion to Congress, not the courts,” a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit panel said in a recent ruling.
In a different case, an en banc Ninth Circuit panel of judges said on Nov. 3 the administration could request states sequester ballots and threaten officials with prosecution if they do not act as the case proceeds.
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