State conservatives demand action against noncitizen voting: ‘It’s time for Congress to listen’
FIRST ON FOX: Conservatives in states across the US are calling on Congress to act on legislation to curb noncitizen voting in federal elections amid ongoing concerns about how widespread the practice might become.
Twelve state chairs of their state Freedom Caucuses, who are part of the State Freedom Caucus Network, are writing to members of Congress urging them to pass The Protecting American Voting Rights Act (SAVE)..
“Illegal immigration was a top election issue for millions of voters and their message was heard loud and clear with the election of Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States. Now is the time for Congress to listen,” they said in the letter to lawmakers, first obtained by Fox News Digital.
Voters cast their ballots at their voting booths inside an early voting location on October 17, 2024 in Hendersonville, North Carolina. (Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
That account, recently reintroduced in the House and Senate by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, requires states to obtain documentary proof of U.S. citizenship and identity in person when registering an individual to vote. It also requires states to establish a program to remove noncitizens from voter rolls and allows citizens to bring lawsuits against officials who violate the law.
Although only citizens can vote in federal elections, Republicans have argued that this is impossible to enforce because non-citizens and illegal immigrants are eligible for driver’s licenses and other benefits in the states, which may lead to them being registered to vote.
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These fears were fueled by the border crisis that exploded in 2021 and only subsided last year. Several states have also announced cleanups thousands of non-citizens from voter lists. Critics of the push have said that actual voting by non-citizens is extremely rare and already illegal. But the presidents expressed concern about the increase in migrants and efforts to increase voter registration.
“We have a huge increase in illegal aliens in our population with more than 20 million non-citizens already living in our country, no oversight of where they are or what they are doing, and a government-wide mandate to encourage voter registration without adequate safeguards,” state presidents say.
U.S. Border Patrol agents prepare to transport migrants for asylum processing at the U.S.-Mexico border in Campo, California, U.S., Friday, April 5, 2024. (Mark Abramson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The State Freedom Caucus Network it was launched in 2021 with the support of the House Freedom Caucus and expanded to several states. The network helps state-level caucuses establish and work to keep their state parties aligned with conservative principles in a similar way to the House Freedom Caucus.
In statements to Fox, the presidents made it clear that they see the issue of noncitizen voting as important to their country.
“SC voters want to feel like the ballot box is safe,” said Jordan Pace, president of the South Carolina Freedom Caucus. “SCFC has repeatedly proposed legislation and amendments to accomplish this by prohibiting spending tax dollars to provide voting forms to non-citizens, closing primaries and increasing audits of hand-counted elections. So far, moderates in the House have blocked us at every turn.”
Arizona Freedom Caucus Chairman Jake Hoffman pointed to a state bill he introduced that became law in 2022 and rejects forms that aren’t accompanied by proof of citizenship.
“However, we need SAVE law fixes in federal law to eliminate the illegal registration of non-citizens under color of law by using the federal registration form,” he said.
The pressure comes at a time when Congress is dealing with issues related to illegal immigration, with both houses of Congress now held by the GOP and President-elect Trump soon to be inaugurated.
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Earlier this month, the Laken Riley Act passed the House of Representatives and advanced in the Senate with Democratic support. That bill calls for the detention of illegal immigrants accused of theft-related crimes.
