Federal Agencies Seek Sanctions Against Immigrant Rights Group

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are seeking sanctions and possible criminal contempt charges against the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA). Federal agencies allege the group violated a court order issued by Chief Judge James Boasberg, which restricted the use of a list of 20,930 suspected noncitizen voters in California solely to arguments regarding legal standing.

CHIRLA and its legal counsel conducted a broader analysis of the data, comparing it to state voter files. The resulting analysis claimed the government list is inaccurate, alleging that over 40% of the names do not appear in current state voter files and thousands of the listed individuals are actually U.S. citizens. Federal officials argue the group promoted these findings to the media to undermine law enforcement. In response, the Department of Homeland Security has requested that the court strike non-standing portions of the expert report and dismiss the complaint.

Parallel to the sanctions request, the Department of Justice appealed a ruling by Judge Trina L. Thompson, who barred the agency from demanding the removal of suspected noncitizens from voter rolls or the separation of their ballots. California election officials have supported CHIRLA's claims, stating the federal list is riddled with errors. Judge Boasberg has ordered a response to the sanction motion by November 2, 2026.