Padilla, Schiff to AG Bonta: Investigate Shocking Whistleblower Disclosure Alleging Alarming DHS Activities in California

Allegations made by DHS Whistleblower could have far-reaching impacts on eligible California voters and lawfully present noncitizens WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with jurisdiction over federal elections and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Immigration Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), in a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, flagged concerning activities detailed in a recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) whistleblower disclosure and requested that Bonta investigate whether those actions may have violated California law. In their letter to Bonta, the Senators highlighted the whistleblower’s allegations that DHS is directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) officers to impersonate voters in violation of state laws to access online voter data as a part of its “Unlawful Voter Initiative,” an effort aimed at manufacturing evidence for President Trump’s unfounded claims of widespread noncitizen voter fraud. The Senators emphasized the potential impacts these actions could have on eligible California voters, including naturalized citizens, such as the creation of erroneous federal law enforcement records known as “TECS records,” especially given the reckless performance quotas of 40 subjects per day being demanded by DHS and the required usage of unreliable source data compiled with so-called “supplemental magic.” “Of particular interest to Californians are the claims that USCIS personnel were directed to misrepresent themselves on California’s voter registration site to access voter data,” wrote the Senators . “California’s voter registration website is clearly intended for the use of voters themselves, and requires the use of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) to access this voter data, including driver’s license number and/or partial Social Security Number.  As outlined in the USCIS training materials provided by this whistleblower, USCIS officers were directed to enter this information, obtained from other DHS data, in order to access the voter data on California’s voter website.” The Senators emphasized that USCIS personnel were provided with thousands of Californians’ sensitive records and data to investigate if they were “unlawful voters.” They further emphasized California’s strong protections regarding voter information and raised concerns about how the information was obtained by the Trump Administration. “As you know, the U.S. Department of Justice has been unsuccessful in its attempt to compel California to provide its voter information to the Trump Administration, raising serious questions about what this data is, how DHS obtained it, and whether they complied with the law in collecting and using this data,” continued the Senators . “The fact that the DHS data was compiled with something called ‘supplemental magic’ does not provide reassurance.” The Senators urged Bonta to review the whistleblower disclosure and determine measures to protect Californians’ voter data. They also urged an investigation into the whistleblower’s allegations. “Considering California’s strong protections surrounding the use of voter registration information and PII, we believe this Disclosure merits a review by your office to determine what actions are necessary and appropriate to protect California voters,” concluded the Senators . “Especially as agency leaders dismissed concerns raised by the Whistleblower and other officers about the legality of this conduct, instructing them to move forward with the searches anyway, we want to ensure that you have all available information necessary to investigate these allegations to the extent your office deems appropriate.” Following receipt of the bombshell whistleblower disclosure, Padilla and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow immediately halt the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” and provide responses to Congress on its activities. Last week, Padilla and Schumer led 16 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to demand the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) immediately open an independent investigation into the wrongdoings detailed in a recent whistleblower’s disclosure. Last week, Padilla also spoke on the Senate floor and called for immediate action and transparency from the Trump Administration following receipt of the disclosure and demanded DHS stop the sham “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” Last month, Padilla led 27 of his Senate colleagues in demanding the Trump Administration stop their illegal voter roll purges before election day. In June, Padilla joined Schumer in launching the first-ever Senate Election Observer Program to protect the 2026 midterms and maintain election integrity nationwide. The Task Force will continue meeting over the coming months to ensure that every American has fair access to the ballot box this November. Full letter is available here and below: Dear Attorney General Bonta: Thank you for your leadership in standing up for the rule of law against President Trump and his Administration’s efforts to interfere with the voting rights of the more than 23 million eligible Californians who are registered to vote. We are writing to make you aware of a September 8, 2026, protected whistleblower disclosure (the “Disclosure”) that reveals serious allegations of illegal and inappropriate activities within the Department of Homeland Security’s (“DHS” or “the Department”) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (“FDNS”). These allegations raise the very serious concern that U.S. citizens could be wrongfully flagged as “unlawful voters,” and also indicate potential violations of California state law, including federal officers impersonating California voters to access their state voting records. According to the attached Disclosure, the Department and USCIS leadership have abruptly diverted FDNS personnel to an “Unlawful Voter Initiative” using highly questionable data and methods to identify purported unlawful voters. DHS and USCIS training materials admit these investigations will include U.S. citizens, some of whom will have federal law enforcement records created against them based on questionable data and rushed reviews by officers held to quotas. The whistleblower’s Disclosure includes compelling evidence of wrongdoing by agency leadership including: (1) USCIS personnel have been directed to access sensitive voter information in violation of state laws prohibiting unauthorized access to individual voter records; (2) USCIS personnel are under significant pressure from headquarters to enter federal TECS records against individuals that are likely to be false, potentially harming thousands of people in likely violation of federal privacy requirements; (3) With minimal training, agency leadership is imposing reckless quotas that demand USCIS personnel investigate 40 subjects per day, a rate of roughly 12 minutes per subject, with leadership tracking their output in an attempt to complete this rushed investigation by September 12; and (4) DHS is providing USCIS personnel with DHS data of dubious origin, including voter data, which they are required to accept as accurate despite the admission that the data has been augmented with “supplemental magic.” The Trump Administration appears to be undertaking this rushed effort to find – or manufacture – evidence for its baseless election conspiracy theories of widespread voter fraud ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Inaccurate claims of “unlawful voters” and erroneous federal law enforcement records can result in serious consequences for Californians, including many naturalized citizens. The Trump Administration may also use these claims to further threaten state and local election officials in California and undermine or challenge the election results themselves. Of particular interest to Californians are the claims that USCIS personnel were directed to misrepresent themselves on California’s voter registration site to access voter data. California’s voter registration website is clearly intended for the use of voters themselves, and requires the use of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) to access this voter data, including driver’s license number and/or partial Social Security Number. As outlined in the USCIS training materials provided by this whistleblower, USCIS officers were directed to enter this information, obtained from other DHS data, in order to access the voter data on California’s voter website. In addition, this whistleblower Disclosure reveals that FDNS officers were provided with thousands of Californians’ information to investigate whether they were “unlawful voters.” The ultimate source of the data used for this target list is unknown, but the training materials state “[t]his public voter file for California was passed to us by [DHS].” As you know, the U.S. Department of Justice has been unsuccessful in its attempt to compel California to provide its voter information to the Trump Administration, raising serious questions about what this data is, how DHS obtained it, and whether they complied with the law in collecting and using this data. The fact that the DHS data was compiled with something called “supplemental magic” does not provide reassurance. The Disclosure further claims that agency leadership knew that this data was unreliable, yet FDNS officers were directed to create federal law enforcement records (known as “TECS” records) against individuals, many of whom are U.S. citizens. In fact, “[o]fficers are specifically told to rely on the data DHS provided for California and use the voter registration dates and voting dates provided in that data to indicate that the subject may be an unlawful voter and create a TECS record.” According to the Disclosure, “a significant number of TECS records, potentially thousands or tens of thousands, will be created against California residents based on data that an officer may have good reason to believe is unreliable or inaccurate without corroboration.” This is especially concerning since the agency’s own training materials admit that there are “a lot of U.S. citizens” in the data. Considering California’s strong protections surrounding the use of voter registration information and PII, we believe this Disclosure merits a review by your office to determine what actions are necessary and appropriate to protect California voters. Especially as agency leaders dismissed concerns raised by the Whistleblower and other officers about the legality of this conduct, instructing them to move forward with the searches anyway, we want to ensure that you have all available information necessary to investigate these allegations to the extent your office deems appropriate. Again, we appreciate your efforts to stand up to the Trump Administration’s repeated attempts to intrude on states like California’s authority to administer their elections and protect the right to vote. Thank you for giving this important matter all due consideration. Sincerely, ###