US judge blocks federal operations seeking to identify non-citizen voters | US Midterm Elections 2026 News
Federal Judge Orders Halt to DHS Investigations into Non-Citizen Voting Ahead of Midterm Elections
Published on October 22, 2026
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cease its investigations into potential non-citizen voters in nine states as the midterm elections approach. The ruling, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin, raises concerns that the DHS operations could violate the Voting Rights Act’s prohibition on voter intimidation.
Judge Martinez-Olguin noted that the investigations may be based on unreliable data, leading to “an objectively reasonable fear of law enforcement entanglements that intimidates citizens from urging or aiding others in exercising their right to vote.”
The court order affects federal efforts in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. Despite the DHS’s assertion that its operations are aimed at identifying individuals who committed voter fraud, some local offices have drawn criticism for publicizing agents’ actions, including photographs of door-to-door inquiries.
This initiative aligns with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to spotlight instances of voter fraud ahead of the November 3 elections. While isolated cases of fraud are recorded in various elections, experts emphasize that such occurrences remain extremely rare. There is currently no evidence suggesting that non-citizen voters have influenced election outcomes at any governmental level in the United States.
In response to the court ruling, the DHS reiterated its intention to investigate only those it believes are non-citizens, stating, “We have no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens.”
The California Nurses Association, National Nurses United, and Voto Latino Foundation are among the groups that filed a lawsuit against the DHS. They claim that some U.S. citizens felt wrongfully identified and questioned as part of these investigations. A lawyer representing the plaintiffs criticized the DHS for relying on faulty data and for deploying agents to homes just weeks before the election.
Benjamin Farley, supervisory counsel for democracy defense at the National Immigration Law Center, remarked that the ruling underscores the issue of voter intimidation, emphasizing the right of all U.S. citizens to participate in elections without fear. “No armed federal agent is going to stop us from casting our vote,” he asserted.
