{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/following-whistleblower-disclosure-warner-kaine-demand-investigation-into-dhs-data-misconduct-in-virginia-nationwide/", "Following Whistleblower Disclosure, Warner, Kaine Demand Investigation Into DHS Data Misconduct in Virginia, Nationwide", "2026-09-18", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "VA", "Mark R. Warner", "W000805", "www.warner.senate.gov", "warner", "https://www.warner.senate.gov/news/press-releases/", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), joined by 16 other Senate Democrats, today demanded the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) immediately open an independent investigation into the wrongdoings detailed in a recent whistleblower\u2019s disclosure. The disclosure alleges that DHS is directing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) officers to impersonate voters in Virginia and across the country in violation of state laws to access online voter data as a part of its \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative,\u201d an effort aimed at manufacturing evidence for President Trump\u2019s unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.\n\nIn Virginia, individuals using the state\u2019s online voter portal must certify that they are accessing their own voter registration record and are warned that accessing another voter\u2019s record is unlawful. According to the whistleblower, USCIS officers were nevertheless directed to falsely certify that they were the individual voters whose records they were searching. On Thursday, Virginia\u2019s Attorney General Jay Jones warned DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin that officers\u2019 actions, specifically those who checked a box falsely attesting they were specific Virginians verifying their voter registration records, \u201cpotentially violates several Virginia laws.\u201d\n\nThe senators wrote in their letter, \u201cThe DHS Office of Inspector General\u2019s mission is \u2018[t]o provide independent oversight and promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within DHS.\u2019 We urge you to carry out that mission by immediately opening an independent investigation into the alleged wrongdoings detailed in the whistleblower\u2019s claims, which describe agency leadership directing officers to violate the law and DHS standards of integrity.\u201d\n\nThe senators highlighted additional allegations in the whistleblower\u2019s disclosure, including that USCIS personnel were directed to create erroneous federal law enforcement records known as \u201cTECS records\u201d based on potentially unreliable information; required to meet performance quotas of reviewing 40 subjects per day with minimal training; and instructed to rely on DHS data of dubious origin that agency officials reportedly described as having been augmented with \u201csupplemental magic.\u201d\n\nThe senators also urged the OIG to take immediate action to prevent additional wrongdoing, writing, \u201cIn addition to your investigation, please use every tool at your disposal, including a management alert, to address this immediately and prevent any additional wrongdoing or misuse of agency personnel and resources while the investigation is ongoing.\u201d\n\n\u201cGiven the time-sensitive nature of these claims, and the potential for misuse of this information for political purposes in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, please provide weekly updates on the status of your investigation to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Senate Committee on the Judiciary,\u201d the senators concluded. \u201cFinally, recognizing the special provisions concerning the DHS Secretary\u2019s authority over certain DHS OIG audits and investigations, if the Secretary refuses to cooperate with an audit or investigation, please notify us immediately.\u201d\n\nIn addition to Sens. Warner and Kaine, the letter was signed by Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).\n\nThe DHS whistleblower\u2019s disclosure has also prompted outside watchdog organizations to conduct their own investigations into the Trump administration\u2019s wrongdoings, including an investigation launched by American Oversight to obtain DHS and USCIS records under the Freedom of Information Act regarding the \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative\u201d and alleged DHS directives to violate state laws.\n\nThe full letter is available here and below.\n\nDear Inspector General Cuffari:\n\nOn September 8, 2026, a protected whistleblower made the attached disclosure to the Senate (the \u201cDisclosure\u201d) that reveals serious allegations of illegal and inappropriate activities within the Department of Homeland Security\u2019s (\u201cDHS\u201d or \u201cthe Department\u201d) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (\u201cUSCIS\u201d) Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (\u201cFDNS\u201d).\n\nThe attached Disclosure confirms that the Department and USCIS leadership have abruptly diverted FDNS from its mission and directed personnel to an \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative\u201d 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 about them based on unreliable data and rushed reviews by officers held to quotas. This initiative is placing FDNS employees in an impossible position. They are being directed to take actions in the weeks before the election that this whistleblower believes are against the law and Department policy, and which will harm Americans.\n\nThe whistleblower\u2019s Disclosure includes compelling evidence of wrongdoing by agency leadership including:\n\n(1) USCIS personnel have been directed to access sensitive voter information in violation of state laws prohibiting unauthorized access to individual voter records, including to make false certifications and affirmations;\n\n(2) USCIS personnel are under significant pressure from headquarters to enter federal\n\nTECS records about individuals that have a high risk of being false, potentially harming thousands of people in likely violation of federal privacy requirements;\n\n(3) Agency leadership is imposing reckless quotas that demand USCIS personnel investigate 40 subjects per day with minimal training, a rate of roughly 12 minutes per subject, with leadership tracking agent output in an attempt to complete this rushed investigation by September 12; and\n\n(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 \u201csupplemental magic.\u201d\n\nThe whistleblower\u2019s Disclosure states that rank-and-file USCIS employees have serious concerns with the actions they have been directed to perform as part of the \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative.\u201d When the whistleblower and others raised concerns about potential violations of state law, they were advised that they would not be held \u201cpersonally liable\u201d, implying an awareness of potential illegality by agency leadership. All these claims require a thorough and objective investigation, including whether authority exists to collect and use all relevant data, free of interference by agency leadership.\n\nThis initiative plainly appears to be a political exercise that poses risks to national security. Over the past several weeks, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ProPublica, and other outlets have reported on the intense White House pressure on DHS and other agencies to back up the President\u2019s baseless claims of widespread election fraud. According to these reports, former USCIS officials are concerned that \u201cwork screening immigration applications for false information and possible security threats has effectively ground to a halt.\u201d\n\nConcerningly, the launch of the \u201cUnlawful Voter Initiative\u201d also occurred immediately following an FDNS reorganization that may have made these highly questionable practices easier to implement quickly across the agency. Your investigation should also examine whether this reorganization contributed to the management failures involved in this initiative.\n\nThe DHS Office of Inspector General\u2019s (OIG) mission is \u201cto provide independent oversight and promote excellence, integrity, and accountability within DHS.\u201d We urge you to carry out that mission by immediately opening an independent investigation into the alleged wrongdoings detailed in the whistleblower\u2019s claims, which describe agency leadership directing officers to violate the law and DHS standards of integrity. Failure to do so risks compounding the serious concerns about these activities within the FDNS workforce and the lack of integrity of FDNS, USCIS, and DHS leadership. In addition to your investigation, please use every tool at your disposal, including a management alert, to address this immediately and prevent any additional wrongdoing or misuse of agency personnel and resources while the investigation is ongoing.\n\nGiven the time-sensitive nature of these claims, and the potential for misuse of this information for political purposes in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, please provide weekly updates on the status of your investigation to the leadership of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, and Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Finally, recognizing the special provisions concerning the DHS Secretary\u2019s authority over certain DHS OIG audits and investigations, if the Secretary refuses to cooperate with an audit or investigation, please notify us immediately.\n\nThank you for your attention to this important matter.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-19T09:11:33Z", "2026-09-19T09:12:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.warner.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/following-whistleblower-disclosure-warner-kaine-demand-investigation-into-dhs-data-misconduct-in-virginia-nationwide/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.9229971803724766, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}