Five organizations and local governments have asked a California federal court to block Department of Homeland Security (DHS) home visits tied to voter eligibility inquiries, arguing the encounters may deter eligible residents from voting before Nov. 3.
The California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, the City and County of San Francisco, County of Santa Clara and Voto Latino Foundation filed their complaint on Sept. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. They allege the visits violate the Voting Rights Act, constitutional protections and the Administrative Procedure Act. The court has not decided those claims.
CBS News reported Oct. 21 that armed DHS agents visited homes in several states and asked residents about immigration status and whether they had registered or voted in past elections. The complaint includes Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) social media posts showing agents at residential doors. HSI is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The plaintiffs say naturalized citizens and people in households with mixed immigration status could be included on lists of suspected ineligible voters. Their filing describes a naturalized nurse who changed her plan from voting in person to voting by mail because she feared being targeted. San Francisco and Santa Clara also say the response could require staff time and resources for training, emergency planning and public outreach.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) says its work aims to investigate alleged unlawful voting and protect election integrity. HSI and federal partners compared California voter registration records with federal immigration data, DOJ said Oct. 15. The department described the preliminary result as more than 20,000 registrants considered likely noncitizens and said the review was continuing. The government said it sent the list to California on Oct. 13.
Separately, DOJ announced Oct. 19 that 28 lawful permanent residents had been charged in California. The charges include alleged false statements on naturalization applications; some defendants also face charges involving fraudulent voter registration. DOJ said 11 people were arrested that day and that the defendants are presumed innocent. HSI Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon said investigations would be conducted “fairly, thoroughly, and consistent with due process.”
At the Oct. 19 hearing, DOJ lawyer Kelsey Helland argued that data sharing and field work were investigative tactics, not final agency actions that could be challenged under the Administrative Procedure Act, Courthouse News Service reported. Her argument concerned the APA claim and was not a ruling on the Voting Rights Act claim. Courthouse News Service reported that Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín took the plaintiffs’ Voting Rights Act claims under submission after the Oct. 19 hearing.
