DHS Moves Against Alien Voting
Prior to Trump 47 USCIS and ICE SVU ignored voting by aliens, no longer, but now they are a deportation priority.
Illegal voting by aliens, mostly aliens holding Lawful Permanent Residence (LPR) status, green card holders, is rampant. It has been a problem that U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and ICE Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) have been ignoring. That has changed with the Trump Administration and now the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel (GC) has ordered ICE OPLA to get in the game.
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after DHS General Counsel James Percival directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enforce stricter penalties, including deportation, for aliens who illegally vote in American elections.
In a letter to ICE leadership, DHS points out that the Immigration and Nationality Act directs the removal of aliens who illegally vote or make a false claim to U.S. citizenship, which often go hand-in-hand. These provisions even allow for the removal of aliens legally in the U.S. if they illegally participate in our elections. A criminal conviction is not required to invoke these provisions.
“The importance of free, fair, and honest elections is without question. Echoing the words of President Trump, ‘the right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election,’” said DHS General Counsel James Percival. “Illegal voting by aliens dilutes the votes of American citizens and undermines our democracy. It must have consequences.”
DHS Directs ICE to Deport Aliens Who Vote in American Elections, unattributed, DHS GC, June 9, 2026
The only problem is that USCIS and ICE HSI have been aiding aliens who vote until recently. The previous policy of USCIS is when they encounter an alien who has registered to vote during the application process, mostly for citizenship or LPR status, they inform the alien that they must remove themselves from the voter rolls, unregister to vote. Once that is accomplished, then the alien is allowed to continue with whatever application they have submitted.
The attitude of HSI is even worse, they do nothing.
Only recently have both HSI and USCIS been more aggressive.
