Biden-Appointed Judge Blocks DHS Noncitizen-Voting Field Operations in Nine States Through Election Day

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of the Northern District of California ordered the Department of Homeland Security to halt most elections-related home interviews and field operations targeting suspected noncitizen voters in nine states through November 3.

The Biden appointee, previously an ACLU immigrants’-rights attorney, issued the preliminary injunction after the California Nurses Association and allied groups sued. The order bars DHS from conducting “elections-related field operations and field interviews” in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin that involve or are likely to involve persons agents “know, suspect, or should reasonably know or suspect are U.S. citizens.”

Martínez-Olguín wrote that the administration’s target lists were “voluminous and unreliable” and that armed agents visiting homes risked voter intimidation under the Voting Rights Act. She explicitly did not hold that investigating noncitizen voting itself is unlawful. The order runs through Election Day but was stayed until Friday afternoon to allow time for an appeal.

The ruling arrives days after federal agents conducted home visits in multiple states as part of the broader “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” Internal documents indicated DHS directed attention to the nine listed states. The Justice Department has charged aliens in multiple districts for illegal registration, false citizenship claims, and voting, including 28 lawful permanent residents in California identified using related data.

Administration officials have described noncitizen voting as a prosecutorial priority. A DHS spokesperson said the department is focused on identifying, prosecuting, and removing aliens who vote and that it has no plans to question people it believes are U.S. citizens. House committees have also subpoenaed New Jersey records on thousands of improper registrations stemming from a separate motor-vehicle software issue.

Martínez-Olguín’s background and the narrow but immediate scope of the order are already drawing scrutiny from election-integrity advocates who note that the same data systems have supported successful prosecutions. The government is expected to appeal or seek emergency relief.