With the 2024 Presidential Election less than 20 days away, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced that the state is taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify immigration records. Below is a copy of an official statement from Moody’s office regarding the request for records:
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking legal action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for refusing to verify immigration records for the State of Florida to ensure voter-roll integrity. Over the course of the Biden-Harris administration, millions of illegal immigrants have flooded into the country. Florida has an interest in ensuring that only American citizens are registered to vote. Recently, the state identified registered voters who may not be U.S. citizens, and DHS refuses to provide information necessary to determine their immigration status. Attorney General Moody is taking legal action to ensure noncitizens are not on the voter rolls.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said, “Voting is a right granted to American citizens—not illegal immigrants or other noncitizens. The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls. I am taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Mayorkas to ensure Florida is able to maintain the integrity of our state’s voter rolls.”
Florida Secretary of State Cory Byrd said, “The Florida Constitution is clear that only citizens can vote in our elections. Florida is calling on the federal government to dismantle the barriers blocking the states from obtaining critical information needed to prevent non-citizens from voting in our elections. We are going to prevail in our effort to uphold the law and uphold the Constitution’s guarantee of one citizen, one vote.”
Evidence suggests that, across the country, noncitizens register to vote frequently. To combat noncitizen voting and maintain the integrity of elections, the Florida Department of State requested information to verify immigration records in Florida, something the state does not have the ability to acquire on its own. DHS refuses to comply with these requests. DHS also denied similar requests made by multiple other states.
Under the Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, Congress mandates that the Immigration and Naturalization Service, now part of DHS, shall respond to an inquiry by a federal, state or local government agency, seeking to verify or ascertain the citizenship or immigration status of any individual within the jurisdiction of the agency for any purpose authorized by law, providing the requested verification or status information.
Florida is requesting the court hold unlawful the defendants’ failure to provide the state with information to verify the citizenship or immigration status of individuals and compel a response. Florida is also asking for permanent injunctive relief ordering defendants to respond to inquiries made by the state.
Read the full complaint here.
The Department of Homeland Security and @SecMayorkas are required BY LAW to provide immigration information in order for states to maintain voter rolls. In the face of DHS stonewalling us from getting essential information to verify citizenship status, we will keep doing our jobs… pic.twitter.com/PrwOd7U2RK
— AG Ashley Moody (@AGAshleyMoody) October 18, 2024
