ICE Obtains Local Voter Files in Texas and North Carolina

Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the investigative unit within ICE, secured voter files from Webb County, Texas, in May, following an earlier request made last November for registration information for two voters in Forsyth County, North Carolina. These details emerged from emails obtained via public records requests by Democracy Forward.

VThe voter files shared with HSI can include registration history, a person's address, date of birth, driver's license number, and voting history. An HSI "criminal analyst" had previously sent an email in April to the Texas Secretary of State's general counsel, inquiring about the process and subpoenas needed to gather such voter information, citing "ongoing investigations."

This effort aligns with President Trump's long-standing focus on alleged noncitizen voting, which he has stated contributed to his popular vote losses in 2016 and 2020. Documented instances of noncitizen voting are rare; The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that tracks voter fraud convictions, reports 100 documented cases of noncitizen voting between 1982 and 2025.

Webb County election administrator Jose Castillo noted that these types of requests from HSI are new to him. He stated that in four years, he has observed only two cases of noncitizen voting out of over 150,000 voters. Castillo is now directing HSI to acquire voter data through public records requests, as voter information is public in Texas. Democracy Forward Senior Oversight Counsel Dan McGrath expressed concern over using ICE resources for a problem he described as rare, emphasizing the public's right to understand the administration's actions.

A DHS spokesperson affirmed HSI's commitment to investigating election fraud, stating, "HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found." The spokesperson added that HSI, under President Trump, is dedicated to "restoring integrity to our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders."

Heather Honey, who serves as the Department of Homeland Security's deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, has also been in contact with the Texas Secretary of State's general counsel. According to emails, she held a virtual meeting in March with the Texas general counsel and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services staff to discuss how DHS could support the state's election office. Honey stated that DHS "has engaged with every state secretary or chief election official."

In March 2025, President Trump signed an executive order emphasizing the need to protect elections and enforce federal law, specifically referencing the prohibition of non-citizens from registering to vote. DHS has been tasked with investigating alleged voter fraud and promoting the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database for election officials to verify citizenship status. Additionally, DHS General Counsel James Percival issued a memo asking ICE's Office of the Principal Legal Adviser to "ensure consequences" for non-citizen voting in deportation hearings, "to the maximum extent allowed by law."

According to Axios, these developments indicate a multi-agency push to investigate voter systems at state and local levels.