LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities arrested more than two dozen foreign nationals Monday in California as part of a statewide sweep targeting people who officials say have illegally registered and voted in U.S. elections.
The arrests are part of a Trump administration effort to root out noncitizen voting ahead of next month's midterm elections, even though data shows that the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and has not been shown
to change the outcome of races.
They also reflect a further escalation in a simmering voter roll fight between the federal government and California that came into focus last week when the Justice Department sued the state and later warned that local election workers who knowingly process or tabulate ballots submitted by noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation and potential prosecution.
The Justice Department said all those arrested as part of a sweep dubbed Operation Protect the Vote are lawful permanent residents — but not U.S. citizens who are permitted to legally vote. They are charged with crimes including making false statements on a naturalization application and submitting fraudulent voter registrations.
“Election integrity is really important to this administration. It should be important to every American,” Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, told reporters.
“The right to vote is critical. It's the foundation of our system of government. And if we have noncitizens voting," he added, “it dilutes the votes of American citizens.”
The federal government has made noncitizen voting a priority this year, demanding detailed voter information — including dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers — from the states. While some states voluntarily handed over the information, the department sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to obtain it — lawsuits that so far have been unsuccessful.
Before Monday, the Justice Department had charged about 90 people for various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227 million registered voters in the United States during the 2024 presidential election.
The operation Monday involved the four U.S. attorneys' offices across California in what the Justice Department intended as a statewide show of force.
Among the dozens of people arrested was a 72-year-old Belize-born man who is accused of voting illegally in four elections.
Dozens of federal agents descended on the man's residential cul-de-sac in Commerce, a small city in Los Angeles County, to make the arrest. The man was put in handcuffs in his pajamas and taken into federal custody downtown. Others emerged from the house to watch and questioned the number of heavily armed officers present for the arrest, as well as the need for handcuffs.
The arrests were the latest in a flurry of activity that has unfolded in heavily Democratic California, which is not typically regarded as a key battleground state but does have a handful of competitive congressional races that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. Over 23 million people are registered statewide.
The administration last week sued California to prevent it from counting mail ballots from people the federal government has identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status can be confirmed.
The complaint was filed after California officials were given, and did not meet, a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected thumb drive that contained a list of 20,000 names. The federal government says those are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots to participate in the Nov. 3 election, although the secretary of state said the administration has provided no evidence to support that claim. The state mails ballots to all registered voters.
Requests for comment sent Monday to the secretary of state, state attorney general and governor's office were not immediately returned.
On Friday, the Justice Department followed up with a letter warning that state election officials who knowingly process ballots cast by noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation.
“The legal consequences for either facilitating or ignoring a federal crime are significant. Noncitizen voting in a federal election is a federal crime — and knowingly facilitating such conduct is equally unlawful,” warns the letter from Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the Justice Department.
It adds: “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens, they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”
The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office and also is copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, effectively putting the entire state on notice.
In response to the letter, Logan said his office is focused on conducting a fair and secure election while noting that Election Day is a mere 18 days away.
“The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is best for this to be addressed in court,” he said.
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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report from Washington.
