DHS Fails to Substantiate Trump Claims of Noncitizen Voting

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security failed to substantiate claims by the Donald Trump administration that nearly 16,000 noncitizens had illegally registered to vote in Nevada. During a meeting with state election administrators, federal officials revealed they had identified only 185 potential noncitizens, explaining that the original figure of 15,903 was a ceiling that had not undergone a full manual review.

These findings contradict broader administration claims of 278,000 noncitizen voters across Nevada, California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. The administration used these figures to justify the SAVE America Act, which would mandate proof of citizenship for federal voter registration. In New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherrill reported that a software error led to roughly 6,600 improperly registered noncitizens, a number significantly lower than the administration's initial estimates for the state.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar criticized the federal data as preliminary and refused to remove voters based on unverified information. Aguilar stated that his office would not risk disenfranchising eligible voters without high confidence of their ineligibility. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has threatened local election officials with prison if they do not comply with administration policy changes.