A Biden-appointed federal judge in California ordered the Department of Homeland Security to pause specific investigations into suspected illegal voting, citing concerns that the agency's methods may violate the Voting Rights Act. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued the ruling on Wednesday, blocking field operations in nine states, including California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Martínez-Olguín, who was nominated by President Joe Biden in 2022 and previously spent about six years at the American Civil Liberties Union, found that activist groups suing the department were likely to succeed in their claims. The judge stated that the public interest in safe elections free from intimidation far exceeds the government's interest in combating unlawful voting by non-U.S. citizens. While the order does not declare investigating noncitizen voting unlawful, it targets DHS tactics that rely on unreliable source data and involve armed agents conducting home interviews, which the court determined could constitute voter intimidation.
The Trump administration maintains that noncitizen voting in federal elections is a crime and that DHS possesses statutory authority to investigate such violations. Lawyers for the federal government conceded that some American citizens may have been included in the investigations but argued that in-person interviews were expressly designed to resolve discrepancies in voter records. A department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that DHS is focused on identifying and removing aliens who vote, asserting that only Americans should elect American leaders and that the agency has no plans to question people believed to be U.S. citizens.
The ruling comes as the second Trump administration prioritizes cracking down on illegal voting, though it has yet to produce evidence of widespread noncitizen voting. The Justice Department announced charges against 16 individuals in September, including noncitizens accused of illegal voting in federal elections, and brought additional election-related charges in October. Separately, New Jersey erroneously placed over 6,000 non-citizens on its voter rolls earlier this year before removing them.
Martínez-Olguín delayed enforcement of the order until Friday to allow the Trump administration time to appeal. The restrictions are set to expire on Election Day unless the court issues a different order. Several of the affected states are led by Democrats who have opposed the administration's immigration enforcement policies and face high-profile elections in November.