Los Angeles County’s assertion regarding suspected noncitizen voters has met a significant challenge, as an immigration official has testified, under penalty of perjury, that none of the 200 names sampled from the county matched federal records indicating they were born in the U.S.
As reported by Fox News national correspondent Matt Finn, this inconsistency comes to light amid the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent California from including ballots tied to over 20,000 suspected noncitizens in their vote count.
The county claimed that 38.9% of the sampled 200 individuals listed by the Trump administration reported being born in the U.S. However, a recent sworn statement from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official indicates the opposite. According to this official, none of the names from Los Angeles County were actually born in the United States.
This declaration was submitted on October 26 by Nicolas Bartell, the associate director of fraud detection at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), who provided insights into the agency’s examination of immigration records.
Bartell explained, “After a thorough review of the immigration records of all the individuals on the County’s Sample List, it was determined that none of the individuals USCIS matched to the County’s Sample List were born in the United States according to USCIS records.”
The filing also mentions that USCIS investigated 51 people from a Department of Homeland Security list whose California voter registrations suggested they claimed U.S. birth. Out of these, four individuals may have legitimate claims to U.S. citizenship, with three possibly gaining citizenship through a parent despite being born abroad. One individual was found to be deceased.
However, it’s important to note that Bartell’s declaration pertains specifically to those matched by USCIS to the county’s sample, and does not reflect the entire California voter roll.
This inconsistency raises additional questions about the county’s findings, especially as the administration pushes for urgent intervention from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to compel California to set aside disputed mail-in ballots and confirm voters’ citizenship prior to counting their votes.
The Justice Department asserts that over 20,000 registered voters have received mail-in ballots and are considered highly likely to be noncitizens. Federal authorities caution that once controversial ballots are included in the tally, it may be exceedingly difficult to separate them out later.
“Every minute that goes by, American citizen votes are being diluted in the state of California,” remarked First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, emphasizing the urgency of the situation. “We view this as an emergency, and we expect the courts to respond accordingly.”
It’s worth pointing out that federal law bars noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and the government has previously pursued criminal charges related to allegations of illegal registration and voting.
