Judge Blocks DHS From Investigating Suspected Noncitizen Voters in Nine States Through Election Day

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered the Department of Homeland Security late on October 21, 2026, to stop "elections-related field operations and field interviews" in nine states, including California and New York, wherever the people targeted are known, suspected, or should reasonably be suspected to be U.S. citizens. Homeland Security Investigations agents had been knocking on doors and asking people about their immigration status and voting history, using target lists DHS built from government and commercial data that even the agency's own process produced with a high error rate.

Martinez-Olguin found the practice likely violates the Voting Rights Act's bar on intimidating, threatening, or coercing people who help others vote, citing a "high likelihood of error" in DHS's lists; she did not rule that investigating actual unlawful voting is itself illegal. The order is temporary, with its effect delayed until 5 p.m. Friday so the administration can seek an appeal, and it is set to remain in place through Election Day. DHS said it has "no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens" and remains focused on removing noncitizens who vote.