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Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says investigators have 1,620 active cases involving suspected unlawful voting, have made 151 arrests and are reviewing more than 300,000 additional records drawn from state voter rolls.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.

The Department of Homeland Security is reviewing more than 300,000 people for possible unlawful voting as federal authorities expand investigations into allegations that noncitizens participated in U.S. elections, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.

Mullin said DHS currently has 1,620 active cases and has made 151 arrests connected to its election investigations. The much larger group of more than 300,000 represents suspected cases still being examined and should not be interpreted as 300,000 confirmed instances of illegal voting.

During an interview with Fox News, Mullin said investigators are comparing state voter-registration information with federal immigration and citizenship records to determine whether individuals were legally eligible to cast ballots.

“We’re scrubbing them. We’re comparing them to those that are in the country illegally, those that are legal permanent residents and those that are citizens” to determine if they voted legally, Mullin said.

He said the list is being assembled from public voter-registration records provided by states and continues to grow as additional information is reviewed.

Mullin separately told CNN that DHS had “over 300,000 suspected individuals” under review, while reiterating that 1,620 cases had progressed to active investigations and 151 arrests had been made.

Federal authorities have announced a series of election-related prosecutions in recent weeks.

On Sept. 18, the Justice Department charged 16 people in cases spanning Texas, Idaho, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey and Michigan. The allegations included unlawful voting by noncitizens, false claims of U.S. citizenship to register or vote and, in some cases, additional offenses involving naturalization, passports, identification documents, firearms or wire fraud.

Those prosecutions include both people accused of being unlawfully present in the United States and lawful permanent residents who are not U.S. citizens. Federal law generally prohibits noncitizens from voting in elections for federal office.

The Justice Department emphasized that criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Separate prosecutions announced earlier in September included cases in California, Kansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Wisconsin. Federal investigators have alleged offenses ranging from voting as a noncitizen to fraudulent voter registration and identity-related schemes.

Mullin said the ongoing DHS review supports President Donald Trump’s longstanding contention that illegal voting occurs in U.S. elections.

“We continue to see that. Every single vote, Kayleigh, that we talk about, that was at the hands of an illegal canceled out a citizen that was legally registered and able to vote,” Mullin said.

That statement reflects Mullin’s interpretation of the investigations. The 300,000 records under review have not been established as fraudulent votes, and the number of active cases and arrests is substantially smaller than the pool DHS says it is examining.

Mullin has said the department is attempting to determine the status of each person identified through comparisons between voter records and federal databases before deciding whether further investigation or prosecution is warranted.

The distinction between a suspected record, an active investigation, an arrest and a conviction is significant. A voter-roll match can trigger additional scrutiny, but investigators must still establish whether the records refer to the same individual, determine that person’s citizenship status at the relevant time and establish whether an unlawful ballot was actually cast.

Federal prosecutors have nevertheless brought multiple recent cases in which they allege that noncitizens registered, voted or falsely claimed U.S. citizenship.

In Northern Texas alone, prosecutors announced charges against seven noncitizens on Sept. 15 for alleged unlawful voting or false citizenship claims. The Justice Department said the defendants included lawful permanent residents as well as a person subject to a removal order.

One separate Texas case announced Sept. 18 involved a Mexican national and lawful permanent resident accused of casting an early ballot in the November 2024 presidential election. Prosecutors said she later admitted in a sworn statement that she had registered and voted. The allegations have not yet resulted in a conviction.

DHS and the Justice Department have said election-related investigations will continue as federal agencies compare immigration, citizenship and voting records.

For now, Mullin’s figures indicate three different stages of that effort: more than 300,000 potential cases undergoing review, 1,620 matters that he says have advanced to active investigations and 151 arrests.

The eventual number of cases in which investigators establish unlawful voting will depend on the results of those reviews and, where criminal charges are brought, subsequent court proceedings.

Original article