illegal immigration
Florida sues DHS for refusing to verify voter registration citizenship information
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody
From The Center Square
By
After requesting citizenship status information about registered voters in Florida, and not receiving it from federal agencies as required by law, Florida sued.
In September, Florida requested information from the Department of Homeland Security and its subagencies about citizenship status of a subset of registered voters it identified and its request was denied.
One month later, a coalition of attorneys general, including Florida AG Ashley Moody, called on DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to provide the requested information, after multiple states, including Texas and Florida, also asked for similar information. They made the requests as multiple states also removed thousands of noncitizens from their voter rolls.
On Oct. 16, Moody sued Mayorkas and DHS in U.S. District Court Northern District of Florida Pensacola Division “for refusing to verify immigration records for the State of Florida to ensure voter-roll integrity.”
Under the Biden-Harris administration, millions of illegal border crossers “have flooded into the country,” Moody said. “Florida has an interest in ensuring that only American citizens are registered to vote. Recently, the state identified registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens, and DHS refuses to provide information necessary to determine their immigration status.” Moody sued “to ensure noncitizens are not on the voter rolls.”
“Voting is a right granted to American citizens – not illegal immigrants or other noncitizens,” she said.
The 16-page lawsuit cites federal and state law related to maintaining accurate voter registration records, federal government agencies’ legal requirement to ensure only citizens are voting in elections, among other provisions. “Because the federal government is refusing to comply with these obligations and frustrating Florida’s ability to maintain the integrity of its elections, Florida files this suit,” the lawsuit states.
Under DHS, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) uses the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to make immigration status information available to state agencies. The SAVE program was created to share information with federal, state and local agencies “for any legal purpose, such as credentials, background investigations, and voter registration,” the lawsuit says, citing information from the Federal Register.
Florida’s lawsuit follows more than a decade of litigation and interactions with DHS on the issue.
In 2012, Florida sued DHS requesting the court compel DHS to provide Florida with access to the SAVE program to verify voter immigration status. Florida was granted access and entered into a memorandum of agreement with DHS that allowed Florida to access SAVE program information.
“SAVE is a useful but inadequate tool that the State of Florida now uses to protect the integrity of its elections, with notable limitations,” Florida found, citing a range of problems with the program in the lawsuit. “SAVE cannot verify a benefit applicant’s status using a Social Security Number, driver’s license number, U.S. Passport number, foreign passport number, Consular Report of Birth Abroad or other non-DHS documentation,” it states.
Prior to suing DHS this time, Florida identified non-citizen registered voters but could not perform a search about them using the SAVE program because of its limitations. Last month, Florida requested USCIS to provide verification of citizenship status for the identified individuals, which it denied.
“Florida has identified a subset of individuals for whom it cannot verify citizenship or immigration status through SAVE and for whom DHS refuses to verify citizenship or immigration status through other means,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit requests the court to provide permanent injunctive relief, compel DHS to provide the requested information, and argues DHS and its subagencies are violating multiple federal laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act and the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act.
Other states like Texas requested similar information and didn’t receive it, The Center Square reported. Unlike Florida, Texas has yet to sue Mayorkas on this issue.
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday designating the city as a “sanctuary city” following President-elect Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan.
This measure prevents the use of local resources for immigration enforcement and prohibits city agencies from sharing information about undocumented residents with federal immigration authorities, according to The Associated Press. The council voted unanimously, aligning Los Angeles with numerous cities across the U.S. that have adopted similar policies.
The ordinance will undergo a second council vote for procedural reasons as Mayor Karen Bass, who has expressed support for the initiative, holds veto power but is unlikely to use it, AP reported. Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez pointed out the city’s firm stance against cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
🚨 President-Elect Trump has named Tom Homan as Border Czar. pic.twitter.com/XNfp4to0Ev
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) November 11, 2024
“We’re going to send a very clear message that the city of Los Angeles will not cooperate with ICE in any way,” Soto-Martinez said. “We want people to feel protected and be able to have faith in their government and that women can report domestic violence crimes.”
Soto-Martinez also noted that many immigrants without legal status are integral to the community, working in roles such as housekeepers, nannies, and cooks, AP reported. While the ordinance highlights the city’s values, critics argue that Los Angeles already refrains from cooperating with federal immigration agencies, suggesting the policy may not bring significant operational changes.
Trump announced that former acting ICE Director Tom Homan will take on the role of border czar in his upcoming administration. Homan will oversee border operations, including deportations, security at land and sea entry points, and aviation safety measures.
Trump revealed Monday that he plans to declare a national emergency and deploy military resources to execute his mass deportation agenda. He confirmed reports from Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, who claimed the administration is ready to use emergency powers to address what he called the “Biden invasion.”
Daily Caller
“I know three families that have gone to Canada.”: Locals Say Haitians Are Hoofing It Out Of Springfield After Trump Win
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
‘They Are Afraid’
Haitians living in Springfield, Ohio appear to be fleeing the city in droves after President-elect Donald Trump was declared the winner of the election, according to reports from locals.
The national spotlight shined on Springfield, a city of roughly 60,000 residents nestled in central Ohio, for weeks following unverified viral online claims that Haitians migrants had been spotted butchering a pet for consumption. The subsequent uproar about Springfield sparked further media debate about mass migration and its consequences, as Springfield has been dealing with an influx of Haitian migrants in a relatively short amount of time.
“The traffic situation seems to be better now,” longtime resident Barron Seelig said to the Daily Caller News Foundation, referring to widespread accounts from city residents in past months that Haitian drivers are causing mayhem on the roads.
While Seelig did speak about local rumors of impending Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids possibly scaring Haitians away, he also mentioned recent crackdowns by highway patrol officers and added that some migrants are leaving because they don’t enjoy the Ohio winters. Another Springfield local told the DCNF that he heard it was virtually impossible to rent a U-Haul truck because so many Haitians are currently renting them — presumably to leave town.
Those who provide services to immigrant services in the city have also said that Trump’s election victory has prompted Haitians to flee en masse.
“Some folks don’t have credit cards or access to the internet, and they want to buy a bus ticket or a plane ticket, so we help them book a flight,” Margery Koveleski, who helps Haitian migrants manage government bureaucracy, told The Guardian. “People are leaving.”
“People are fully aware of the election result, and that is why they are leaving; they are afraid of a mass deportation” Jason Payen, a co-founder of the Haitian Community Alliance, said to the Guardian.
“Several of my customers have left. One guy with his family went to New Jersey; others have gone to Boston,” Payen continued. “I know three families that have gone to Canada.”
Trump, for his part, has vowed to embark on a border enforcement agenda that will apply to the entire country.
During the campaign, Trump pledged to continue building the U.S.-Mexico border wall, revive the Remain in Mexico program, hire more border patrol agents and conduct the “largest deportation program in American history,” and end birthright citizenship for those born on U.S. soil to illegal migrant parents.
Trump said in October that he would revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haitian nationals and “bring them back” to the country. The Biden-Harris administration has provided TPS — which temporarily gives deportation protections to its designees — to hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals currently living in the U.S.
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