Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers obtained individual voter files in Texas this spring and North Carolina last November as part of the Trump administration’s effort to identify instances of voting by illegal immigrants.
Voter files from Webb County and Forsyth County were shared with Department of Homeland Security Investigations agents, according to emails obtained through Democracy Forward records requests shared with Axios. The report comes as the SAVE Act, which requires voters to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, has stalled in the Senate despite President Donald Trump’s push to advance the measure.
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An HSI “criminal analyst” initially emailed the Texas Secretary of State’s general counsel in April “seeking information referencing obtaining voter information; specifically dates and methods of registration, elections voted in etc.” Upon further communication in May, officers requested and received voter files from Webb County election officials.
Webb County Election Administrator Jose Castillo said this is the first time he’s received such a request and he’s directed HSI to submit public records requests for voter data moving forward.
“There’s nothing there,” he said. “But I get it, you’ve got to do your job.” Castillo added he’s seen two instances of an illegal immigrant voting out of more than 150,000 voters in four years.
The report suggests ICE expanded efforts as early as last fall to investigate alleged voting by illegal immigrants by investigating county election data. The now multi-agency effort to crack down on voting fraud comes ahead of midterm elections in November.
On Tuesday, DHS directed ICE “to enforce stricter penalties, including deportation” for illegal immigrants accused of voting in elections. An illegal immigrant accused of voting in seven elections since 2008 was arrested and charged in March in Philadelphia.
“HSI is actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found, “ a DHS spokesperson said in a statement. “We have repeatedly demonstrated that illegal aliens can and do vote in our elections. Under President Trump, HSI is committed to restoring integrity in our election systems and ensuring that American citizens and only American citizens are electing American leaders.”
The Heritage Foundation’s database that tracks convictions of voter fraud shows just 100 documented cases of illegal immigrants voting between 1982 and 2025. According to one 2024 study previously cited by the think tank, between 10% to 27% of illegal immigrants in the U.S. are registered to vote.
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A March 2025 executive order titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections” included a section on “Enforcing the Citizenship Requirement for Federal Elections.” Trump has often blamed voter fraud for his 2020 presidential election loss.
DHS and Democracy Forward did not respond to requests for comment.
