{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/watch-padilla-breaks-down-new-whistleblower-allegations-of-dhs-lawbreaking-ahead-of-midterms/", "WATCH: Padilla Breaks Down New Whistleblower Allegations of DHS Lawbreaking Ahead of Midterms", "2026-09-25", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "CA", "Alex Padilla", "P000145", "www.padilla.senate.gov", "padilla", "https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/", "scraper", "WATCH: Padilla uncovers Trump\u2019s voter intimidation push through DHS whistleblower disclosure\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration with jurisdiction over federal elections and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, released a video sounding the alarm over Trump\u2019s ongoing attacks on American elections, including a recent disclosure by a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) whistleblower that alleges that DHS is directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) Division officers to violate state laws as a part of its \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative,\u201d an effort aimed at substantiating President Trump\u2019s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.\n\nWith just weeks to go until the November election, Senator Padilla breaks down the whistleblower\u2019s claims and how the federal government\u2019s alleged interference will impact eligible voters. Additionally, Senator Padilla calls for every American to resist these voter suppression tactics by making a plan and committing to vote this November.\n\nFollowing receipt of the bombshell whistleblower disclosure, Padilla and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) demanded DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow immediately halt the \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative\u201d and provide responses to Congress on its activities, and protect naturalized citizens who were erroneously flagged as \u201cunlawful voters.\u201d On Monday, Padilla and Senator Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta highlighting the concerning activities detailed by the DHS whistleblower disclosure and requested that Bonta investigate whether those actions violated California law. 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 the whistleblower\u2019s disclosure. The whistleblower\u2019s disclosure is also being cited in ongoing litigation, Virginia\u2019s Attorney General is examining potential violations of Virginia state law, and Arizona\u2019s Attorney General and Secretary of State are calling on Arizona\u2019s U.S. Attorney to look into this alleged misuse of data by the federal government.\n\nExcerpts from the video are below:\n\nPADILLA REACTION TO WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE\n\nAnd the only reason we know about these allegations is because a federal employee had the courage to come forward. Now, that takes guts. My office is protecting this whistleblower\u2019s identity from any potential retribution. But making their disclosure public isn\u2019t enough. Because there are still major questions out there. How did DHS obtain this voter information? Who directed this initiative? And what exactly did they access? How was it used? And were American citizens caught up in it?\n\nThat\u2019s why Senator Adam Schiff and I have shared this disclosure with Rob Bonta, California\u2019s Attorney General, because he may want to look into this and determine whether DHS personnel violated California law. And the DHS Inspector General should look into it to look for any violations of federal law. But this isn\u2019t the only election fight happening right now.\n\n[\u2026]\n\nNow these are separate matters. But together, they raise serious questions about the Trump Administration\u2019s attempts to interfere in our elections. And all of this is happening as ballots go out to voters. So if you\u2019re thinking, What the hell is going on? That\u2019s a fair question. And after spending six years running California\u2019s elections as Secretary of State, and now serving as ranking member of the Senate committee with jurisdiction over federal elections\u2026 this happens to be something I know a little bit about. So here\u2019s what we know.\n\nPADILLA ON WHAT COMES NEXT AFTER WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE\n\nRecently my office received a protected disclosure from an anonymous federal whistleblower. According to that disclosure, hundreds of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services employees were reassigned from their duties to something called the \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative.\u201d Its stated goal was identifying people who may have been unlawfully registered to vote. And to be clear: Regardless of what you hear from certain individuals, noncitizen voting in federal elections is both already illegal and extremely rare. But according to the whistleblower, these officers were instructed to access state voter websites to try to manufacture evidence of noncitizen voting. Some sites required users to attest that they were the voter or authorized to act for that voter.\n\nThese federal employees were neither. So, they were told to lie. And when employees reportedly questioned whether that was legal, they were basically told not to worry about it, and promised that they wouldn\u2019t be held personally liable. Not held personally liable? If what they\u2019re doing is legal, then federal employees shouldn\u2019t have to question whether their assignments will expose them to liability. So I\u2019m working to determine who gave those instructions.\n\nPADILLA EXAMINES IMPACT OF TRUMP\u2019S INTERFERENCE IN ELECTIONS\n\nAccording to the disclosure, the government\u2019s own materials acknowledged these investigations could include \u201ca lot of U.S. citizens.\u201d And the data was so unreliable it includes \u201csupplemental magic.\u201d And employees were reportedly expected to process\u2014 forty people a day. That\u2019s five per hour \u2013 or about twelve minutes per person. Twelve minutes to review complex immigration information, citizenship information, voter information and potentially create a federal law-enforcement record. Based on magic data? That\u2019s nowhere even close to enough time to do an actual thorough, responsible, accurate records check. After a twelve-minute review, they were instructed to create law enforcement records based on this questionable data. And an inaccurate federal record can have very real, long-term consequences. The worst part is that people won\u2019t even know if these records were created for them until it is too late. So we need to know: How many American citizens were wrongly flagged? How many false records were created?\n\nAnd what is going to protect Americans from being secretly flagged as a \u201cunlawful voter\u201d by DHS?\n\nPADILLA\u2019S PERSONAL FIGHT FOR FREE ELECTIONS\n\nWhen I came home to California after earning my engineering degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, it was during our state\u2019s fight over Proposition 187 which targeted and scapegoated families like mine. My parents immigrated from Mexico. My dad worked for forty years as a short-order cook. And for those same forty years, my mom cleaned houses. Now, watching immigrants who became citizens like my parents and so many others in my hometown community of Pacoima, when they become a political punching bag, that helped propel me into public service. A few years later, after serving on the Los Angeles City Council and then in the State Senate, I became California\u2019s chief elections officer. And here\u2019s something you learn when you actually run elections: election security and voter access are not mutually exclusive. Yes, you need accurate voter rolls, secure systems, clear rules, and, in a democracy, you need the opportunity for every eligible voter to cast a ballot. So when someone invokes \u201celection integrity,\u201d I take it seriously.\n\nPADILLA\u2019S EFFORTS TO PROTECT ELECTIONS\n\nNow you may be thinking: Okay, Senator. What are you actually doing about this?\n\nThat\u2019s a fair question. Because I know how this sounds. Another instance of the Trump Administration being out of control. Another letter. More outrage. More frustration with Washington. I understand it. So here\u2019s the reality. We\u2019re in a tough position with an Administration that has no regard for the law, and which Republicans refuse to hold accountable. Hopefully that all changes after this November\u2019s midterm elections. But I\u2019m not sitting on the sidelines and waiting until then \u2014 I\u2019m already getting to work. I will protect this whistleblower. This evidence is already being cited in court. I am demanding documents, I am asking the tough questions, I will conduct oversight, and I will make sure these abuses do not go unnoticed. Senator Schumer and I have demanded an independent investigation into these allegations. I want to know: who authorized this? What information was accessed? Why were U.S. citizens wrongly flagged? Were laws broken? And what happened to the records? What recourse do U.S. citizens and others flagged have to correct these records? I\u2019m going to keep asking until we get answers. The whistleblower did their part. I\u2019m doing everything within my authority to do mine. And every American gets to decide for themselves what they think about what their government is doing. Pay attention. Make your own judgment. And make your voice heard. Because presidents don\u2019t get the final word. Senators don\u2019t get the final word. 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