A federal judge has now ruled that Department of Homeland Security officials can’t knock on people’s doors to ask about their immigration status and whether they have voted in the recent elections, as the action likely violated the Voting Rights Act. The department posted photos and videos of agents carrying out the operation to find out illegitimate voters. In her ruling, US District Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin ordered federal immigration authorities to stop carrying out “elections-related field operations and field interviews” in nine states, including California and New York, if the operations are likely to involve people who government officials “know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are US citizens.”Her order will remain in effect until polls close on Election Day. She stayed the ruling until 5 pm on Friday, which will give the government a chance to seek an appeal.“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,” the judge, Martinez-Olguin, wrote. “Rather, Plaintiffs seek to stop DHS from continuing to investigate US citizens, who have a legal right to vote, in a way that intimidates and threatens the participation of CNA/NNU members from urging or aiding others to vote.”The lawsuit was filed by the California Nurses Association and National Nurses United, along with the Voto Latino Foundation, San Francisco and Santa Clara County. A request for comment to the Department of Homeland Security was not immediately returned.Homeland Security said in a statement on Thursday that the department is “laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote and dilute the votes of US citizens.” The department added that they have “no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be US citizens.”
Operation Protect the Vote
Federal law enforcement recently arrested 11 foreign nationals in California who were among 28 total charged in criminal complaints with federal crimes, including that they fraudulently registered to vote in US elections. The Operation Protect the Vote is a coordinated effort among all four California-based US Attorney’s offices to combat and root out fraud n US elections. All 28 foreign nationals charged are lawful permanent residents or Green Card holders who have legal immigration status in the United States, but are not permitted to vote in US elections.
