Whistleblower Alleges DHS Illegally Accessed Voter Records

In late August 2026, USCIS employees were pulled off regular duties, given under two hours of training, and set to run DHS lists through state voter systems at about 12 minutes per person. On September 14, Senators Chuck Schumer and Alex Padilla released a nearly 30-page Democracy Defenders Fund whistleblower report on the Unlawful Voter Initiative and held a news conference after a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding a halt. What is contested: The whistleblower report states "the current process is knowingly sweeping known U.S. citizens in as potentially 'unlawful voters,'" citing alien identification numbers that remain after naturalization. DHS chief counsel told agents the access technique was permissible; officials said agents are not personally liable if searches are official and documented. A White House DHS document tied to Trump's July 16 speech claimed more than 250,000 non-citizens registered in California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill said a "serious software error" produced about 6,600 automatic non-citizen registrations from June 2023 to June 2024, with fewer than 400 ballots cast. Schumer said, "We just got more proof of Trump's vile schemes to rig our elections," and called it how far Trump will go to interfere. DHS told the New York Times, "Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: we will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences — including criminal charges and deportation." A DHS spokesperson earlier told AP the department cross-referenced publicly available voter-roll data with known illegal aliens. DHS and the White House had not publicly responded in the reports provided.