A US federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt voter-related interviews and field operations in nine states, ruling that agents’ practice of visiting homes to ask about immigration status and voting may violate the Voting Rights Act.
US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin said the restrictions apply where officials know, suspect, or should reasonably suspect that those approached are American citizens. California and New York are among the states covered by the order.
The operation forms part of the Trump administration’s effort to investigate alleged voting by non-citizens. Homeland Security Investigations has published photographs and videos showing agents approaching homes in several states, but critics have warned that the activity could intimidate eligible voters.
Judge Martinez-Olguin’s order prohibits “elections-related field operations and field interviews” involving potential US citizens. It will remain in force until polls close on Election Day, although the judge has paused its implementation until 5pm on Friday to allow the government to appeal.
The ruling followed a legal challenge brought by groups including the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United. The judge found that the policy likely breached a section of the Voting Rights Act which prohibits intimidating, threatening or coercing people who help others vote or take part in voter mobilisation.
“Plaintiffs do not claim, nor does the Court find, that it is unlawful for federal officials to undertake investigations into unlawful voting in federal elections,” Judge Martinez-Olguin wrote. She said the challenge instead concerned investigations of citizens with a legal right to vote “in a way that intimidates and threatens” participation in voter assistance.
The judge also cited what she described as a “high likelihood of error” in the process used to compile the list of potential targets. The system draws on information from government agencies and commercially available data.
Protect Democracy, which was involved in the lawsuit, welcomed the decision. Its counsel, Beau Tremitiere, said: “It was clear from the start that DHS built its lists on bad data, never checked how often it was wrong, and recklessly sent agents to people’s homes weeks before an election.”
President Donald Trump has made tackling voter fraud a priority during his second term, despite little evidence of widespread voting by non-citizens. The Justice Department says 156 people have been charged with voting-fraud-related offences since the start of the Trump administration.
The department also said earlier this week that several dozen green-card holders had been arrested in California over allegations that they illegally registered to vote in federal elections.
