The U.S. Department of Justice has sent letters to election officials in all 50 states warning that they could face criminal charges for allowing noncitizens to vote. The head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division issued the warnings, stating that officials may face criminal prosecution if they knowingly allow non-U.S. citizens to vote or allow them to remain on lists of eligible voters.
In a specific threat, the department has indicated it may arrest more than a dozen state election officials if a single vote is cast by a noncitizen in their states. The Justice Department has given these election officials five days to provide detailed explanations of how they intend to comply with laws prohibiting noncitizens from voting.
These warnings follow claims by President Donald Trump and his administration that noncitizen voting is a widespread problem affecting U.S. elections, although those claims have been described as false.