The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has expanded its investigations into alleged voter fraud by examining more than 150 organizations nationwide, focusing on nonprofits that may be assisting noncitizens in illegally registering to vote, according to internal government documents reviewed this month. The agency has also considered deploying undercover agents to infiltrate these groups, with the aim of collecting evidence to support potential prosecutions and dismantling what it describes as “illicit facilitation networks.”
These efforts are part of the Trump administration’s broader “election integrity” initiative ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for November 3, where control of Congress and the president’s legislative agenda is at stake. The administration has asserted that noncitizen voting is a significant threat to election outcomes, despite a lack of credible evidence that such votes have ever shifted an election result.
A June memo outlining the status of these investigations reveals that DHS has targeted 82 organizations in Pennsylvania, including the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Ahmet Tekelioglu, executive director of the Philadelphia chapter of CAIR, stated that the group’s voter registration efforts comply with all applicable rules. In New Jersey, officials reviewed 44 groups but found no derogatory information based on internal assessments. An additional 26 groups flagged via a DHS tip line are under review. The agency is also investigating Black Fork Strategies, an Ohio-based voter engagement firm, along with its affiliates.
The DHS declined to comment on specifics of the investigations but emphasized its commitment to preventing illegal voting, stating that noncitizens caught voting or registering will face criminal charges and deportation. “Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: We will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences,” the agency said.
The documents also reveal that Heather Honey, a key figure within DHS in charge of “election integrity” efforts and known for promoting unsubstantiated claims of fraud in the 2020 election, provided investigators with 48.4 million voting records of unclear origin. These records, along with over 50 million others obtained from the Department of Justice, have been funneled to an internal “Innovation Lab” associated with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Honey’s association with election fraud theories dates back to 2020 when she advanced accusations, repeatedly debunked by election officials, including claims that Pennsylvania recorded more votes than registered voters. Despite no evidence supporting these allegations, they were echoed publicly by former President Donald Trump and his allies. Prior to joining DHS, Honey was a private investigator with no known experience in election systems and led the Pennsylvania chapter of the Election Integrity Network, a group that amplifies election denial narratives.
The efforts to identify and remove noncitizens from voting rolls have drawn criticism from Democrats and voting rights advocates, who warn that targeting nonprofit organizations could intimidate legitimate voter registration drives. Some states, including Nevada, have challenged DHS’s findings. In Nevada, a state audit of 185 individuals identified as noncitizens by federal officials found all were, in fact, lawful citizens.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently claimed the administration had flagged over 250,000 potential noncitizen voters across Nevada, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. However, critics point to discrepancies in the data and question the validity of the ongoing investigations amid concerns about the reliability of the information being used.