The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating "literally thousands" of potential cases involving noncitizen voting, a senior Trump administration official said Sunday. The investigations come amid an ongoing crackdown by the Trump administration to identify potential noncitizen voting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has reviewed tens of millions of voter records as part of that effort, while federal authorities have also investigated voting-related groups, according to records obtained by Democracy Forward through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
"Noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections, so the question is simply how many of them there are," Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, told CBS’ 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl. When Stahl said the number of noncitizens who actually vote was small, Dhillon defended the administration’s efforts. "The point is actually the opposite of what you were saying.
It's not to sow distrust. And so all of these kinds of crimes are being prosecuted now for the first time really in volume. And look, even the Biden administration prosecuted 13 people for noncitizen voting," Dhillon said.
I mean, the numbers are tiny," Stahl responded. "So Lesley, we've been in office for less than two years. We've had investigations ongoing for over a year, and it takes time.
There are literally thousands of them out there that we are looking at," Dhillon said. Newsweek has contacted the DOJ for comment via email outside office hours. While administration officials say tougher enforcement is needed to protect elections, documented cases of noncitizen voting have historically been rare.
A review found the conservative Heritage Foundation had recorded 24 instances of noncitizen voting in U.S. elections between 2003 and 2023. A Newsweek review of Justice Department press releases identified 72 people named in 2026 announcements involving alleged illegal voting or related election offenses, including voting by noncitizens and falsely claiming U.S. citizenship to register or vote. The charges are allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
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