US arrests 2 dozen noncitizens in California over alleged illegal voter registration ahead of midterms

Federal authorities have arrested more than two dozen foreign nationals in California for allegedly registering and voting illegally in US elections, as the Trump administration intensifies its efforts to crack down on noncitizen voting ahead of the November 3 midterm elections.According to the Associated Press, the arrests were made on Monday as part of a statewide operation dubbed “Operation Protect the Vote”. The Justice Department said all those arrested were lawful permanent residents, but not US citizens eligible to vote in federal elections.The accused face charges including making false statements on naturalisation applications and submitting fraudulent voter registrations.The crackdown comes despite data indicating that noncitizen voting is extremely rare in the US, difficult to establish and has not been shown to have changed the outcome of elections, AP reported.The arrests also mark a fresh escalation in the dispute between the Trump administration and California over voter registration records and election procedures.California at centre of voter roll disputeThe Justice Department has made investigating noncitizen voting a priority this year, seeking detailed voter information from states, including dates of birth, addresses, driving licence numbers and partial Social Security numbers.Before Monday’s arrests, federal prosecutors had charged around 90 people with various election-related offences this year, including about 50 accused of voting as noncitizens. The US had more than 227 million registered voters during the 2024 presidential election.California, a heavily Democratic state, has emerged as a major focus of the administration’s efforts. Although it is not generally considered a key battleground in presidential elections, several competitive congressional races in the state could influence which party controls the US House of Representatives for the remaining two years of President Donald Trump’s term.More than 23 million people are registered to vote in California.Last week, the Justice Department sued the state, seeking to prevent officials from counting mail-in ballots cast by people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status is verified.The lawsuit followed a dispute over a password-protected thumb drive containing a list of 20,000 names. Federal officials claimed the individuals were likely noncitizens who had been sent ballots for the November 3 election.California officials did not meet a 48-hour deadline set by the federal government to review the list. The state's secretary of state said the administration had provided no evidence to substantiate its claims, AP reported.California sends mail-in ballots to all registered voters.Justice Department warns election workersThe dispute intensified on Friday when the Justice Department warned California election officials that knowingly processing or counting ballots cast by noncitizens could expose them to federal investigations and potential prosecution.In a letter addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office, acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said noncitizen voting in federal elections was a federal crime and warned that knowingly facilitating such conduct was also unlawful.The letter further cautioned that election workers who knowingly counted ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens could risk being treated as aiding and abetting a federal offence.The warning was also sent to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, placing state and local election officials on notice less than three weeks before Election Day.Responding to the letter, Logan said his office remained focused on ensuring a fair and secure election, noting that Election Day was just 18 days away.He said the Justice Department had chosen to pursue its unverified claims through litigation and added that the matter was best addressed in court.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.