Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of ICE, has spent the past year examining hundreds of nonprofit organizations involved in voter registration, according to internal government documents obtained by the legal nonprofit Democracy Forward. The documents, released through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, reveal that at least 82 organizations in Pennsylvania and 41 in New Jersey were scrutinized, with a focus on battleground states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, as well as Washington, D.C., and Minnesota.
The agency reportedly considered using undercover agents to communicate with organizations suspected of helping noncitizens register to vote. A June report indicates that investigators had ingested 50.6 million records from a Justice Department dataset, plus another 48.4 million from independent sources—totaling nearly 100 million records analyzed for potential investigative leads. This year, HSI opened 418 voter-fraud cases, but 318 of those were not referred for prosecution, suggesting many investigations yielded no actionable findings.
State voter-roll information may have also been entered into Palantir's ELITE system, an ICE tool used to identify, prioritize, and locate individuals targeted for immigration enforcement, according to Democracy Docket. This raises concerns about the militarization of voter registration data and the potential chilling effect on civic participation.
Noncitizen voting is already prohibited under federal law, and the government was not investigating individuals suspected of illegally voting—which would be a valid concern—but rather the organizations helping people register to vote. This approach is problematic for everyone concerned about election integrity and civil liberties.
The administration has a documented history of challenging the legitimacy of elections. Donald Trump pressured Georgia officials after losing the 2020 election, asking Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to reverse his defeat. To this day, the president refuses to admit he lost the 2020 election. Now, years later, his administration has built an enormous federal apparatus around finding voter fraud, which now includes examining nonprofits, scrutinizing voter rolls, and considering undercover operations.
The available evidence shows that voter fraud is extraordinarily rare. A Brennan Center study of 23.5 million votes across 42 jurisdictions found just 30 suspected cases of voter fraud—roughly one per million votes. More recent state audits have similarly found extremely low numbers that did not sway election outcomes.
This investigation is part of a broader pattern of voter suppression efforts. As Latino voters swing back to Democrats, such tactics may backfire. The administration's focus on voter registration groups could deter eligible voters from participating, particularly in communities of color.
Critics argue that this is a misuse of immigration enforcement resources. Instead of targeting actual threats, ICE is spending time and money on a problem that barely exists. The documents suggest that the agency is more interested in creating a chilling effect than in prosecuting real fraud.
This has to stop. The integrity of our elections depends on the ability of all eligible citizens to register and vote without fear of intimidation. The administration's actions undermine that principle and threaten the very foundation of our democracy.
