An internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) email raises new questions about the agency’s efforts to identify non-U.S. citizens who may be on state voter rolls or have cast ballots in the past.
In the email—which was sent last year—DHS personnel shared a 78-page document listing counties and states that offer election materials and ballots in non-English languages. The list of jurisdictions was attached alongside a Department of Justice criminal checklist outlining requirements for the prosecution of voter-related charges.
The email was included in materials released after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed suit over a public records request.
DHS said in a statement that anyone who votes illegally shouldn’t be able to “use a purported lack of knowledge” of English to avoid prosecution. In recent weeks, federal authorities have charged a number of individuals with alleged illegal voting.
Democrats fear the Trump administration’s efforts to root out noncitizen voters will entangle or intimidate eligible voters and reduce turnout in this year’s midterms.
The email worries Dan Freeman, the DNC’s litigation director and a former Department of Justice Voting Section attorney. “The logical inference that I think anyone would make is that they are thinking about the prosecution of federal election crimes in jurisdictions where elections are conducted in a language other than English.”
NPR (9/18/26) By Miles Parks, Jude Joffe-Block, and Ximena Bustillo