DHS Puts Hundreds of Agents on a Hunt for Noncitizen Voters, Sometimes by Posing as Voters on State Websites

The New York Times reported on Sept. 2, 2026 that the Department of Homeland Security has assigned hundreds of federal agents to a weekslong search for noncitizens among registered voters. Agents are scouring state voter rolls, using names, dates of birth and partial Social Security numbers to look voters up on public-facing state election websites - in some cases, the Times reported, effectively posing as individual voters. Agents were pulled from human trafficking and terrorism investigations, and ICE was assigned this week to a new "Criminal Voter Fraud surge initiative," CNN reported.

Federal agents querying state election systems two months before the midterms touches an area the Constitution assigns primarily to the states, and involves data voters supplied to state officials, not to federal law enforcement. Documented noncitizen voting is consistently found to be rare.

DHS has not publicly described the initiative. An immigrant rights group sued on Sept. 2 to block DHS from using federal databases it alleges target naturalized citizens eligible to vote. No court has ruled.