ICE investigators reviewed voter registration nonprofits in several states and weighed using undercover agents, records show
A June 1 report by Homeland Security Investigations, released Oct. 7 by Democracy Forward after a records request, says 82 groups were reviewed in Pennsylvania alone. DHS says it does not comment on active investigations.
Washington. Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reviewed nonprofits that register voters in several states this year in its search for voting by noncitizens, and discussed using undercover agents, according to internal reports released Oct. 7 by Democracy Forward.
Democracy Forward, a legal advocacy group, said it received the 166 pages of records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request it filed in April. They include weekly reports on HSI's election integrity investigations. Democracy Docket described the reviews as covering hundreds of nonprofits; CNN said dozens.
What the reports say
A report dated June 1 says 82 organizations were reviewed in Pennsylvania, and that the Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and the clothing retailer Zumiez were "flagged for further investigation." It says research was completed on about 41 New Jersey groups "that engage in voter registration activities," found through the nonprofit databases Candid and CauseIQ, and on three more found through open-source research, and that "no derogatory information was found" on any of them.
Research had also begun on 22 clients of an Ohio company that investigators linked to a canvassing firm they suspect of voter registration fraud, and 26 organizations flagged through a tip line were under review.
It says HSI would work to identify organizations "that may be predatory in nature, particularly those suspected of illegal alien registration and voter encouragement," with New Jersey and Pennsylvania as areas of focus, and that future operations "may involve utilizing UCAs," or undercover agents, "to target identified organizations." Democracy Docket reported that the records do not show any such operation took place.
What DHS and the groups say
The Department of Homeland Security did not answer States Newsroom's specific questions; an unsigned statement said it does "not comment on active investigations, investigative methods, or internal deliberations." A DHS spokesperson told CNN that the department and the Justice Department are "laser focused on prosecuting and removing aliens who vote."
“HSI investigates allegations of criminal activity, including unlawful voter registration or voting by noncitizens in federal elections.”
Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu, executive director of CAIR Pennsylvania, told States Newsroom that its "voter registration program follows all applicable voter registration rules and requirements." Monica Byron, president of Education Minnesota, an educators union among the 22, said it learned of the review from Democracy Forward and would keep encouraging eligible members to vote.
Skye Perryman, Democracy Forward's president, said the records "should concern all Americans."
For nonprofits that run registration drives, the June 1 report shows how groups came to investigators' attention: nonprofit database listings, open-source research and a tip line, followed by searches of other databases for what it calls derogatory information.
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