A mysterious inquiry recently reached Nevada’s election office when a Fox News reporter questioned the state regarding a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claim that over 15,000 noncitizens were present on its voter rolls. Election officials, who had received no prior notice, were left confused by the origin of the allegation. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said that the state responded by stating they had no knowledge of the matter, noting that they operate based on verified facts rather than anecdotal claims or unfounded allegations.
The situation escalated three days later when DHS publicly announced that an analysis of public voter data had identified more than 250,000 potential noncitizens registered across Nevada, California, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Officials in all four states reported being blindsided by the announcement, disputing the findings and criticizing the department for failing to provide its methodology or the specific names of those allegedly ineligible to vote. Aguilar emphasized that he could not justify claims that appeared to be made up out of thin air.
This announcement coincided with a primetime address by President Donald Trump, who declared he was declassifying information regarding vulnerabilities in the U.S. election system. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who has consistently supported Trump’s election fraud claims, underscored his role in this initiative following the president’s speech. Mullin suggested that if election officials failed to secure their elections after receiving this information, they could be held accountable.
Since taking office in March following the firing of Kristi Noem, Mullin has prioritized transforming DHS into a central pillar of the administration’s crusade against perceived voter fraud. This shift includes the elevation of Heather Honey, a Trump-aligned researcher known for challenging 2020 election results, who was promoted to senior counselor to the secretary in June. Under this new leadership, DHS has pivoted away from its traditional role of supporting election security, focusing instead on investigating voter fraud.
The department has increasingly relied on Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), an arm of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to conduct these inquiries. A DHS spokesperson confirmed that HSI is actively investigating election fraud, and internal communications obtained by reveal that agents have spent months pressuring local officials for voter records to build criminal cases. In some instances, agents acknowledged the unusual nature of these tasks, with one noting that voter fraud investigations are not typically part of HSI’s standard operations.
Internal emails highlight the challenges of these investigations. In Franklin County, Ohio, agents flagged individuals who had never been registered to vote, and inquiries expanded to include canvassing groups like the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. In Fort Bend County, Texas, HSI subpoenaed the election director for records before even identifying the specific names to be checked. Critics, such as Brendan Fischer of the Campaign Legal Center, characterized these efforts as the department scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The administration has also utilized the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to trace voting histories, though critics argue the expansion of this program failed to substantiate claims of widespread noncitizen voting. Furthermore, DHS has continued efforts to find evidence supporting Trump’s unfounded claims regarding the 2020 election. In February, HSI contacted the Arizona attorney general’s office regarding late-arriving ballots in Maricopa County. While the office provided materials from a previous investigation conducted by former Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich, these inquiries ceased following the leadership changes at DHS in March. The report also notes that no one knew where the claim had come from. The report also notes that “We just responded very plainly, like we have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar told. The report also notes that last year, DHS tapped Heather Honey, a Trump-aligned election researcher who gained national attention for her efforts challenging the 2020 results, to lead an “election integrity” campaign. The report also notes that a puzzling email landed in Nevada’s state election office last month. The report also notes that his allies hailed the findings as a bombshell. The report also notes that he touted his department’s noncitizen findings, urged more states to collaborate, and delivered a stark warning, at a press conference on the White House grounds. The report also notes that dHS has pushed states to share their voter rolls for audit and vowed to withhold grant funding from those that refuse to adopt a broader set of election reforms. The report also notes that federal law bars noncitizens from voting as well as making false statements to register.
