Immigration

Civil rights groups sue to block DHS hunt for noncitizen voters

Washington • October 28, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: federal courthouse steps with an American flag, voter registration forms and a gavel

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

Civil rights groups sued the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday, asking a California federal court to shut down its Unlawful Voter Initiative, a program they say illegally intimidates naturalized U.S. citizens and subjects them to possible disenfranchisement weeks before the midterm elections, Reuters reported.

The lawsuit, filed in California federal court by the American Civil Liberties Union and affiliates, names the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Director Joseph Edlow. The plaintiffs include OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates and Common Cause, with the ACLU of Northern and Southern California leading the case. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

The initiative, launched in August, directed immigration services personnel to generate lists of people to investigate for possibly voting without being a U.S. citizen, as the law requires. According to the complaint, hundreds of agents were reassigned to the effort, and every name on the lists is tied to an Alien Number, an identifier issued to noncitizens — which the plaintiffs say means only naturalized and derivative citizens, not U.S.-born citizens, can be swept into the review.

The suit also alleges the administration is demanding that state election officials deny ballots to certain voters based on flawed eligibility data, potentially undermining confidence in next week's midterm elections. Reuters reported separately Wednesday that the administration has issued more than 100 subpoenas for records on tens of thousands of voters in at least a dozen states, and that the Justice Department has brought more than 100 cases accusing individuals of noncitizen voting. Last week, a federal judge in California placed limits on the initiative in nine states, though the plaintiffs said those restrictions expire at the end of Election Day on November 3.

The lawsuit seeks to vacate the initiative and asks for the destruction of records created under it, alleging violations of the Civil Rights Act and laws governing privacy and administrative procedure. The case is a challenge to an enforcement program, not a ruling on any individual voter's eligibility, and the court has not yet ruled on the new complaint.

Sources: Reuters (Oct 28, 2026); ACLU complaint summary (Case 3:26-cv-12617, N.D. Cal.).