Paxton sues Homeland Security over noncitizen voting

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday, accusing federal officials of failing to cooperate in preventing noncitizens from voting in the 2024 election.

The lawsuit, filed in a Texas federal court, claims DHS has withheld critical data on approximately 450,000 voters whose citizenship status has never been verified because “they registered without a State of Texas-issued driver’s license or identification card,” according to a press release announcing the lawsuit.

“Noncitizen voting undermines the integrity of our elections and voter confidence,” Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement. He accused the federal government of actively interfering in state efforts to ensure only U.S. citizens cast ballots, saying “defendants refuse to comply with the law and answer valid requests for information” from Paxton’s office, according to the 15-page complaint.

The Texas lawsuit centers on what Paxton described as DHS’s refusal to share information from the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database, which tracks immigration statuses. Paxton’s office has sought access to the database to cross-check Texas voter rolls for noncitizens, but the state attorney general said the federal agency has stonewalled these requests.

“The Biden-Harris Administration has refused to comply with federal law, presenting yet another obstacle for Texas to overcome in ensuring free and fair elections in our state,” Paxton argued, adding that Texas has a legal right to the data under federal law.

Texas has implemented several election security measures in recent years, including Senate Bill 1, which tightened restrictions on voter identification and mail-in ballots.

The lawsuit against DHS follows a broader push by Republican-led states to implement stricter voter verification measures, particularly as the 2024 election approaches.

Meanwhile, states including Alabama and Virginia have been targets of the Justice Department in recent weeks after both states respectively took measures to ensure no ineligible voters were listed on their current voter rolls.

Paxton has vowed to take the case against DHS as far as necessary, saying, “The law demands that they provide important information regarding the citizenship of nearly half a million potentially ineligible voters.”