Justice Department charges more than 2 dozen in California sweep
targeting alleged noncitizen voters
[October 20, 2026]
By SAFIYAH RIDDLE
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities charged more than two dozen
foreign nationals Monday in California as part of a statewide sweep
targeting people who officials say have illegally registered or voted in
U.S. elections.
The arrests are part of a Trump administration effort to root out
noncitizen voting ahead of next month's midterm elections, even though
data shows that the problem is incredibly rare, difficult to prove and
has not been shown to change the outcome of races.
Federal officials on Monday blamed California officials for the alleged
crimes, accusing them of facilitating noncitizen voting through
inadequate voter roll maintenance and hiding it from the public. The
charges escalated a simmering voter roll fight that came into focus last
week when the Justice Department sued California and warned that local
election workers who knowingly process or tabulate ballots submitted by
noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation and potential
prosecution.
The Justice Department said the 28 people who were charged as part of a
sweep dubbed Operation Protect the Vote are lawful permanent residents —
but not U.S. citizens who are permitted to legally vote. They are
charged with crimes including making false statements on a
naturalization application and submitting fraudulent voter
registrations.
“This causes real damage to real elections and real damage to American
citizens," Trent McCotter, the acting deputy attorney general at the
Justice Department, said during a news conference in Los Angeles.
Rob Bonta, California's Democratic attorney general, said Monday that
there is no widespread voter fraud in California and that while
“one-off” examples of voter fraud are possible, those instances are “a
drop in the bucket” considering the state has 23 million registered
voters.
Bonta said he expects his state to prevail in the federal government's
lawsuit, saying the Republican administration “has provided us with no
facts of any ineligible voters, just a conclusory statement with no
evidence to back it.”
California emerges as a flashpoint for voting dispute
The federal government has made noncitizen voting a priority this year,
demanding detailed voter information — including dates of birth,
addresses, driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers
— from the states. While some states voluntarily handed over the
information, the department sued 30 states and the District of Columbia
to obtain it — lawsuits that so far have been unsuccessful.
The Justice Department said Monday it has charged 113 people in 20
states with illegal voting and illegal registration offenses over the
last seven weeks. It earlier said it had charged about 90 people for
various types of election misconduct so far this year, including 50 who
are alleged to have voted as noncitizens. There were more than 227
million registered voters in the United States during the 2024
presidential election.
The operation Monday involved the four U.S. attorneys' offices across
California in what the Justice Department intended as a statewide show
of force.
Among the dozens of people arrested was a 72-year-old Belize-born man
who is accused of voting illegally in four elections.
Dozens of federal agents descended on Omar Alexander Muñoz's residential
cul-de-sac in Commerce, a small city in Los Angeles County, to make the
arrest. Muñoz was put in handcuffs in his pajamas and taken into federal
custody downtown.
Esmeralda Muñoz, 70, said her family was furious that agents showed up
to their home in full tactical gear with guns drawn to arrest her
husband before dawn.
“It’s a show for them,” she said, calling it a “shame” that government
officials arrived with camera crews and news helicopters.
She and her three children and 10 grandchildren are all U.S. citizens,
she said; Omar Muñoz is a legal permanent resident, she said, and they
didn’t realize that he was registered to vote. When they do talk about
politics, Esmeralda said Omar has been a vociferous supporter of Trump.
The arrests were the latest in a flurry of activity that has unfolded in
heavily Democratic California, which is not typically regarded as a key
battleground state but does have a handful of competitive congressional
races that could help determine which party controls the U.S. House for
the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term.
[to top of second column]
|
Homeland Security Investigations task force officers arrest a
suspect accused of illegally registering to vote during a federal
operation in Commerce, Calif., Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae
C. Hong)
The administration last week sued California to prevent it from
counting mail ballots from people the federal government has
identified as “likely” noncitizens until their immigration status
can be confirmed.
The complaint was filed after California officials were given, and
did not meet, a 48-hour deadline to review a password-protected
thumb drive that contained a list of 20,000 names. The federal
government says those are likely noncitizens who were sent ballots
to participate in the Nov. 3 election, although the secretary of
state said the administration has provided no evidence to support
that claim. The state mails ballots to all registered voters.
McCotter said the 20,000 number was likely to rise.
“That’s just the floor,” he said.
DOJ accuses California of ‘state-facilitated voter fraud’
McCotter said the lawsuit against California was necessary because
“state-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable,” and accused state
officials of creating the last-minute emergency before Election Day
by not working with the Justice Department sooner to check alleged
noncitizen voters.
Explaining why it was important to address voting by noncitizens
even though it's rare, he noted that some races in California have
been decided by just hundreds of votes.
Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, criticized
the state's election officials for not cooperating with the
department's demands.
“Why is California refusing to show their voter rolls?” he asked.
“What are they afraid of? What are they hiding?”
As part of its lawsuit, the Justice Department filed paperwork
Monday seeking a court order that would force California to set
aside ballots from suspected noncitizens and to independently, or in
conjunction with the federal government, verify their citizenship
status before tabulating their mail-in ballots. The Justice
Department asked for the order to be entered in time for the Nov. 3
election.
Absent that order, the government said, “there is a significant risk
that American votes will be diluted.”
Requests for comment sent Monday to the secretary of state and
governor's office were not immediately returned. Governor Gavin
Newsom on Monday published a series of X posts seeking to undermine
the Justice Department's announcement.
“WOW. First Assistant Bill just admitted in front of the press that
not all of those arrested today may have voted,” he wrote in one
post, referencing Essayli.
A warning for poll workers
On Friday, the Justice Department followed up with a warning that
state election officials who knowingly process ballots cast by
noncitizen voters are at risk of investigation.
A letter from McCotter reads: “If persons knowingly tabulate ballots
cast by individuals identified by federal agencies as noncitizens,
they risk becoming aiders and abettors to a federal crime.”
The letter is addressed to the Los Angeles County Counsel’s office
and also is copied to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber
and Los Angeles County Registrar Dean Logan, effectively putting the
entire state on notice.
In response, Logan said his office is focused on conducting a fair
and secure election while noting that Election Day is a mere 18 days
away.
“The U.S. Department of Justice has chosen to litigate their
unverified assertions of voting eligibility. At this point, it is
best for this to be addressed in court,” he said.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
