Federal authorities arrested 28 noncitizens early this morning on accusations they illegally registered to vote and cast ballots in U.S. elections, marking an expansion of the Justice Department's crackdown on noncitizen voting.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said at least 11 suspects are already in custody, with federal agents expecting more arrests. "These are not isolated instances," Essayli said.
The arrests follow a seven-week stretch in which the Justice Department charged 113 noncitizens across 20 states with illegal voting and registration offenses. Since the current administration took office, prosecutors have charged 156 people total with voting fraud-related offenses.
Federal authorities are investigating thousands of additional potential cases nationwide, according to Essayli. The wide geographic reach of the charges—spanning 20 states—suggests a distributed pattern of illegal registration and voting rather than localized incidents.
