Arrests in Commerce
Federal agents arrested more than two dozen people in California on Monday as part of a push against noncitizen voting. Homeland Security Investigations officers carried out the operation in Commerce, southeast of Los Angeles. The Guardian reported that 28 green card holders were charged. The Justice Department has described the effort as "Operation Protect the Vote."
Photographs from the scene showed task force officers escorting suspects. Officials said the cases involve people who registered or voted while not holding US citizenship.
A parallel fight over 20,000 ballots
The arrests came as the administration presses a lawsuit against California election officials. The suit asks a federal court to stop the state from counting mail ballots from about 20,000 voters the government calls "likely" noncitizens until their citizenship is confirmed. California holds its midterm election on November 3.
Bill Essayli, the first assistant US attorney in Los Angeles, rejected claims that such fraud is rare or that the administration is overstating the threat. State officials have called the lawsuit an attempt to interfere in a state election.
The administration has also demanded that California match its voter list against federal records, and has asked other states to hand over voter data. Several states have refused or slowed the requests.
States and courts push back
Legal challenges are moving on several tracks. A federal judge in Miami ruled this month that a law criminalizing noncitizen voting is unconstitutional in the case before him. In New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherrill said thousands of noncitizens had reached the voter rolls through the state's motor-voter system.
Election experts say noncitizen voting is rare and that removing voters close to an election risks taking eligible citizens off the rolls. The administration argues that even small numbers matter and that the checks are overdue. With two weeks to election day, both sides are asking courts to decide what happens to ballots already cast.