A top Department of Homeland Security lawyer says the agency will hunt down, charge and deport any noncitizen caught casting an illegal ballot, as the administration presses a nationwide voter fraud crackdown ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections.
DHS general counsel James Percival made the threat Saturday on “My View with Lara Trump.” “Our message now is, whether it’s now or later, if you illegally cast a vote, we will find you, we will charge you, and we will deport you,” Percival said. He added that more than 200 people have already been charged in connection with noncitizen voter fraud.
The remarks follow a DHS press release issued Wednesday announcing that dozens of noncitizens had been arrested on charges tied to the agency’s voter fraud enforcement effort. “The patriots of ICE have arrested dozens of noncitizens who illegally voted in American elections,” Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the release. “Some of them have criminal histories that include assault with a dangerous weapon, domestic violence, drug trafficking, burglary, and driving under the influence. The Trump administration will not allow illegal aliens to steal the votes of hardworking American citizens. American elections are for Americans only.”
DHS said several of those arrested also carried criminal records spanning additional drug and sex offenses.
Washington State Pushes Back
The administration’s effort to flag suspected noncitizen voters has not gone unchallenged. In Washington state, Secretary of State Steve Hobbs disputed Justice Department findings from last month claiming investigators had identified more than 400 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in the state, some of whom federal officials say cast ballots in multiple elections dating back decades.
Hobbs said his office’s own review of the federal list turned up “several glaring deficiencies.” “This list includes United States citizens and is not reliable. Without individualized proof of ineligibility, it would be both irresponsible and illegal for election officials to decline to process a registered voter’s ballot,” he said.
Hobbs also said the federal analysis misrepresented the status of many names on the list. “That analysis reflects a significant number of people on your list who are not currently registered to vote or are on inactive status, contradicting your representations that all the individuals included in the list will receive a ballot in this year’s election,” he said.
The dispute underscores a broader tension between federal enforcement efforts and state election administration as the midterms approach, with Washington officials insisting that ballots cannot be rejected without individualized proof a voter is ineligible.
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