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Judge rules against DHS's policy of knocking on doors to track down possible noncitizen voters
CBS News • • general
Key Points:
- A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's door-to-door inquiries about immigration status and voting likely violate the Voting Rights Act, potentially intimidating legal voters.
- U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered DHS to halt "elections-related field operations" in nine states involving individuals suspected to be U.S. citizens until after Election Day, allowing time for government appeal.
- The ruling sided with groups like the California Nurses Association, finding the DHS policy likely intimidates voters and violates protections against coercion in voter mobilization efforts.
- The judge highlighted the high likelihood of errors in DHS's data-driven targeting process, which uses government and commercial data sources, leading to wrongful investigations of citizens.
- The decision comes amid President Trump's focus on cracking down on voter fraud, despite limited evidence of widespread illegal voting by noncitizens, with only 156 charges related to voting fraud since his administration began.
