Summary
The ACLU and our partners filed a lawsuit to stop an unlawful and discriminatory program by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that systematically targets, investigates, and intimidates naturalized U.S. citizens.
The lawsuit was filed by OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, OCA-San Mateo, OCA-Sacramento, Common Cause, ACLU of Northern California, ACLU of Southern California, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), represented by the ACLU Voting Rights Project.
Since August 2026, USCIS has run what it calls an “Unlawful Voter Initiative” aimed at tracking and investigating foreign-born citizens under the guise of voter eligibility checks. As a result, thousands of fully naturalized American citizens are subjected to improper investigations, door-to-door interrogations, and potential disenfranchisement based on flawed government data.
The lawsuit aims to immediately stop the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) from continuing the Unlawful Voter Initiative. It also seeks to block the federal government from pressuring state election officials to withhold or discard valid ballots cast by individuals appearing on DHS’s unreliable lists. Additionally, the legal action demands a formal declaratory judgment establishing that the initiative violates the Civil Rights Act’s Uniform Standards Provision, the Privacy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
Documents
- Voting and Civil Rights Groups File Lawsuit to Stop Unlawful Federal Intimidation of Naturalized Citizen Voters
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