Attorney General Todd Rokita & Secretary of State Diego Morales continue work to verify that Indiana voters are U.S. citizens

Submitted by Office of AG Todd Rokita

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Secretary of State Diego Morales continue pressing the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to help verify the citizenship status of voters who registered in Indiana without providing state-issued forms of identification.

Morales

Rokita

Despite first receiving Indiana’s written requests last October, federal officials have failed to provide information that would enable Indiana to verify that only eligible voters participated in elections. This month, Attorney General Rokita and Secretary Morales filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – of which USCIS is part – to compel federal cooperation.

“Following the Biden administration’s obstruction here, I expect that President Trump’s team will resolve this matter,” AG Rokita said. “This lawsuit is another important step in ensuring the integrity of our elections. Hoosiers have a right to know that legitimate ballots are not being diluted by noncitizens. I promised that I would get citizenship information from USICS, and that is exactly what I am doing by filing this suit.”

Last year, AG Rokita and Secretary Morales sent then-USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou lists of certain voters who registered without state IDs – along with a joint letter formally requesting the agency’s assistance in verifying those individuals’ citizenship status. No response ever came.

“As Indiana’s Chief Election Officer, ensuring the integrity of our elections is non-negotiable. This legal action is a continuation of our efforts for Indiana to lead the way in election integrity,” Secretary Morales said. “Since we never received a response from the Biden administration, we know that under President Trump’s leadership and based on his recent Executive Order, there’s a stronger commitment to the election process. Hoosiers deserve nothing less than full confidence in the security of their vote.”

Federal law requires USCIS to respond to inquiries from state government agencies “to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law.”

You can read Last fall’s letter here and the recently filed lawsuit here.

As part of a multistate coalition, AG Rokita has also pressed federal authorities to provide a plan for how they will verify voters’ U.S. citizenship status in response to state requests.