Trump administration charges 28 in California over alleged immigrant voter fraud

Federal prosecutors have charged 28 lawful permanent residents in California with illegal voting or registration in the weeks before the 2026 midterms, part of a broader Justice Department push that has produced 155 such cases nationwide since President Trump returned to office. The cases coincide with a new $25 million whistleblower program offering cash rewards for tips on government fraud and a separate nationwide operation targeting immigrants accused of improperly receiving SNAP benefits. California officials and former Homeland Security leaders have described the timing and scale of the voter cases as disproportionate, noting that studies have found noncitizen voting rare and unlikely to alter election results.

The California defendants include green card holders who told relatives they did not recall registering to vote; one family suggested possible confusion with a U.S.-born son sharing the same name. State data reviewed by Los Angeles County found that nearly 40 percent of a sample of 200 federally flagged registrations actually belonged to U.S.-born citizens. The Justice Department separately sued California last week to prevent counting of roughly 20,000 ballots from voters it identified as likely noncitizens, though that figure is down from earlier claims of 190,000.

Critics inside and outside government argue the emphasis on immigration-related fraud serves to question the legitimacy of upcoming elections in advance. Former DHS official Royce Murray said the administration has framed immigrants as inherent fraud risks to build public support for mass deportations. Former ICE agent Eric Balliet called the shift from targeted investigations to algorithm-driven lists a privacy overreach. Administration officials counter that prior vetting was too lax and that even small numbers of violations justify aggressive enforcement, including deportation proceedings.

The crackdown extends beyond voting. Agents have pursued cases involving alleged false statements on immigration applications and misuse of federal benefits, with some resulting in detention and removal proceedings. A federal judge this week limited sweeping field operations in nine states, including California. Penalties for noncitizen voting can include fines, jail time and deportation, though such prosecutions were infrequent before the current administration.