A federal judge in California has barred DHS from running field operations in nine states that target people it knows or should reasonably suspect are U.S. citizens. Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín issued the Preliminary injunctionA temporary court order pausing enforcement of a rule or policy while a legal case is still being decided.See it in the glossary on October 21, and it runs through Election Day.
What the voter field operations order bars
According to NPR, the order covers DHS officers in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. It bars field operations aimed at people officers know, suspect or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens. It also bars operations that rest wholly on USCIS data matching without further investigation.
The order took effect Friday, October 23, and stays in place through election night. The federal government could appeal.
Why the judge ruled against the operations
The judge found the government relied on flawed data and that its efforts likely violated the Voting Rights Act’s bar on voter intimidation, NPR reported. She wrote that the operations “lead to an objectively reasonable fear of law enforcement entanglements.”
The evidence included a USCIS whistleblower’s September disclosure that rushed data matching produced a target list that included U.S. citizens. CT Mirror reported that a Homeland Security Investigations memo dated August 31 describes a “surge initiative” starting September 1.
Who sued and what DHS said
San Francisco, Santa Clara, two nurses unions and the Voto Latino Foundation brought the suit, represented by Protect Democracy and the National Immigration Law Center. A filing by the nurses unions said naturalized members stopped attending rallies, serving as poll workers or voting in person because of the operations.
DHS said it is “laser focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote.” It also said it has “no plans to question or investigate people we believe to be U.S. citizens.”
For related reporting, see our articles on a dismissed federal noncitizen voting charge and on expanded SAVE citizenship checks.