The U.S. Department of Justice announced on Monday that it has federally charged 28 noncitizens with voter fraud in California, including 11 arrests, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal voting in federal elections. Among those charged is a man from Belize accused of falsely claiming U.S. citizenship on his voter registration and voting in 2020, 2022, and 2024.
The Justice Department also sued California and Los Angeles County last week, demanding they set aside mail-in ballots linked to more than 20,000 suspected noncitizen voters, including the 28 individuals named in the charges. Federal officials stated that the state’s refusal to comply with their requests raises concerns about election integrity, while California and county election officials countered that the demands lacked legal authority and violated civil rights protections.
Federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security have also expanded door-to-door inquiries in multiple states, including California and Kansas, as part of a broader effort to identify noncitizens who may have registered or voted illegally. The Northern California office of Homeland Security Investigations posted images on social media showing agents conducting these visits, accompanied by statements emphasizing that “American elections are for Americans.”
The Justice Department’s actions follow a May law signed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom that prohibits state officials from sharing voter data with federal law enforcement without a court order. Federal prosecutors have since suggested that election workers could face liability for “aiding and abetting” fraud if they fail to comply with federal requests. The department has filed similar lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia, though most have been dismissed by district court judges for lacking statutory or legal authority.
Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan stated in a press release that the county received the DOJ’s list of suspected noncitizen voters with less than 48 hours’ notice, describing the demands as arriving in “questionable circumstances” during an election cycle. The county argued that the DOJ did not provide underlying evidence, sources, or methodology supporting its assertions of ineligibility. Federal officials, however, maintain that noncitizen voting undermines election integrity and damages the voting rights of U.S. citizens.
The DOJ has charged 156 people with voting-fraud offenses since the start of the second Trump administration, according to DHS estimates suggesting as many as 250,000 people may have illegally registered to vote—a figure some election experts have questioned. The department has described the cases as not isolated instances, signaling a broader review of alleged illegal voting across the country.