Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Saturday that DHS is investigating 1,620 cases involving suspected illegal voting by noncitizens, with another 300,000 cases under review.
Mullin disclosed the figures during an appearance on Fox News with Kayleigh McEnany, saying the number of cases being examined continues to increase as federal officials compare state voter-registration records against immigration and citizenship databases.
“Well, and this list is only growing, by the way. We have 1,620 cases moving right now that are under investigation. We have 151 arrests, and we have 300,000 we’re looking into — and that list grows every single day,” Mullin said.
“And, by the way, this list is continuing being compiled by states of their own public voting registers. So we’re going through and we’re scrubbing them. We’re comparing them with those that are in the country illegally, those that are legal permanent residents, those that are citizens.”
Mullin said DHS has already made 151 arrests as part of the broader investigation. He also said the department is reviewing voter records provided by states to determine whether individuals were legally eligible to participate in elections.
The secretary connected the investigation to concerns raised by President Donald Trump about election security, saying the cases uncovered so far demonstrate that illegal voting remains an issue under investigation by federal authorities.
“The president was right when he said there was a tremendous amount of fraud in the election,” Mullin said. “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. And so one is too many, but the fact that we have 300,000 we’re looking into right now and 1,620 cases that are under investigation and 151 arrests is unacceptable.”
The Justice Department has separately announced a series of federal cases involving noncitizens accused of illegally voting or falsely claiming US citizenship. Prosecutors announced charges against seven people in North Texas this month as part of an election-integrity investigation.
Among those cases is that of Carlos Salas Barrios, a 41-year-old Mexican citizen and lawful permanent resident who prosecutors allege cast a provisional ballot in Tarrant County during the November 2024 general election despite not being a US citizen. Election officials ultimately rejected the ballot, but prosecutors allege that casting it nonetheless violated federal and Texas law.
Mullin also addressed whether DHS personnel could be present at polling locations during the upcoming election. He said federal agents would not be deployed to polling places absent a security threat.
“We won’t be at the polling place unless there’s a threat for us to be there. If there’s a threat for us to be there, we will show up because we meet threats head on,” Mullin said during an appearance on CNN.
