To find foreign nationals on their voter rolls, states can use two little-known federal statutes to verify whether a registered voter is an American citizen through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), according to America First Legal (AFL).
AFL sent letters on Monday to each state’s chief election official — along with a copy to their respective governors and attorneys general — highlighting two statutes that the legal group says allow states and localities to request information about a person’s citizenship and immigration status. If requested, AFL contends, DHS is required to provide such information.
AFL first points to 8 U.S.C. § 1373(c), which requires the former Immigration and Naturalization Service — which was replaced by the DHS — to “respond to an inquiry by a Federal, State, or local government agency, seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, by providing the requested verification or status information.”
AFL also points to 8 U.S.C. § 1644, which states:
Notwithstanding any other provision of Federal, State, or local law, no State or local government entity may be prohibited, or in any way restricted, from sending to or receiving from the Immigration and Naturalization Service information regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an alien in the United States.
“Accordingly, States and localities should submit requests to DHS to verify the citizenship or immigration status of registered voters on voter rolls where
