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"content": "\u003cp>\u003c!-- Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ -->\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the eve of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/elections\">Election Day\u003c/a>, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a last-minute legal challenge from the Trump administration that would have forced California to not count over 20,000 ballots that the administration had flagged as being cast by possible noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The rejection came the same day prosecutors filed new federal charges against noncitizens accused of voting improprieties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s where things stand on the unprecedented legal war the federal government is waging on California’s elections.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>U.S. Supreme Court rejects Trump\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>On Monday — a day before the election — the Trump Administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which almost \u003ca href=\"https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/110226zr_3eb4.pdf\">immediately rejected\u003c/a> the federal government’s request to force California to set aside the 20,000 ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12087079\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12087079 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CaliforniaElection2026Getty-e1781204236548.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1353\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An election worker processes mail-in ballots for the California state primary election at the Los Angeles County Ballot Processing Center on June 5, 2026, in City of Industry, California. \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>None of the judges dissented, and no explanation was provided.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling came after U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter issued a \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-ballot-claims-california-ruling/\">blistering ruling\u003c/a> last week declaring that the Trump administration’s efforts were likely unconstitutional.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” wrote Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration immediately appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel on the appellate court for the second time in a week rejected the administration’s claims.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Background on the case\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>For years, President Donald Trump has claimed, without evidence, that potentially “millions” of noncitizen voters are rigging elections for Democrats. His federal prosecutors in California have been aggressively trying to prove him right, even as independent experts and election officials say noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In mid-October, the Trump administration sent a letter to California’s secretary of state and Los Angeles County election officials demanding they set aside the 20,000 ballots. The letter demanded the ballots not be counted until the voters’ citizenship can be verified.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California refused.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration sued and urged a federal court to issue an order forcing California to comply. Meanwhile, it also sent similar demand letters and grand jury subpoenas to county elections offices warning that election workers could be charged if they allow noncitizens to vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>New arrests on eve of Election Day\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Also on Monday, the federal government announced charges against another 12 noncitizens for registering to vote or voting in California elections after previously charging 28 green California card holders for similar crimes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Voting is the essence of American citizenship,” Bill Essayli, Trump’s top prosecutor in Los Angeles, said at a press conference Monday. “Illegally attempting to infiltrate and influence our political determinations is not only wrong, it’s a crime.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[aside postID=news_12107739 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/467299859_qed-1fd78d6c.jpg']\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California officials have been quick to point out that the arrests represent a fraction of a percent of California’s 23 million registered voters — hardly proof of a sweeping election-rigging conspiracy as Trump has so often claimed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They said, ‘Aha! Look at this widespread voter fraud,’” and then they made 28 arrests,” Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta said last week. “I mean, talk about a fizzle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moria Dahan, one of the people charged on Monday, made her first appearance in federal court shortly after the charges were announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dahan was shackled at the ankles and led into the courtroom by U.S. marshals. Dahan, an Israeli national who lives in West Hills, spoke through a Hebrew interpreter as she acknowledged the charges against her. She was released minutes later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her attorney, Tiffany Feder, said her client didn’t “intend to defraud, intent to conceal, or falsify any kind of documents. She didn’t know what she was filling out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Judge blocks election worker threats\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Another federal court judge issued \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28860437-seiuvdojtro103026/\">an order\u003c/a> Friday blocking the Trump administration’s unprecedented targeting of election workers, after their union filed a legal challenge asking the court to halt the administration’s threats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. District Court Judge Trina L. Thompson, a Joe Biden appointee, said the law “favors the protection of election staff, who are working diligently to ensure that all citizens can cast their votes.” She ordered the administration not to threaten or pressure election officials to withhold or segregate ballots and barred the federal government from criminally charging workers based on claims of ineligible voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling is in response to federal prosecutors sending letters to all 58 county election officials demanding they set aside ballots from the list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens or face potential criminal charges. Prosecutors also have served some county election officials with \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/ca-election-officials-subpoenas/\">federal grand jury subpoenas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experts, counties question Trump’s numbers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several county officials say they have done spot checks on the federal list, and they say the data is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">riddled with inaccuracies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UCLA Voting Rights Project also submitted a brief to a federal court saying its data scientists found that 42% of the 20,000 names were “not anywhere to be found on the current California voter file.” The analysis \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcra.com/article/california-doj-voter-list-errors-analysis/74303367\">also found\u003c/a> that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government’s list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/supreme-court-rejects-trump-ballot-case/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/span>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California officials have been quick to point out that the arrests represent a fraction of a percent of California’s 23 million registered voters — hardly proof of a sweeping election-rigging conspiracy as Trump has so often claimed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They said, ‘Aha! Look at this widespread voter fraud,’” and then they made 28 arrests,” Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta said last week. “I mean, talk about a fizzle.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Moria Dahan, one of the people charged on Monday, made her first appearance in federal court shortly after the charges were announced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dahan was shackled at the ankles and led into the courtroom by U.S. marshals. Dahan, an Israeli national who lives in West Hills, spoke through a Hebrew interpreter as she acknowledged the charges against her. She was released minutes later.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Her attorney, Tiffany Feder, said her client didn’t “intend to defraud, intent to conceal, or falsify any kind of documents. She didn’t know what she was filling out.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Judge blocks election worker threats\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Another federal court judge issued \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28860437-seiuvdojtro103026/\">an order\u003c/a> Friday blocking the Trump administration’s unprecedented targeting of election workers, after their union filed a legal challenge asking the court to halt the administration’s threats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>U.S. District Court Judge Trina L. Thompson, a Joe Biden appointee, said the law “favors the protection of election staff, who are working diligently to ensure that all citizens can cast their votes.” She ordered the administration not to threaten or pressure election officials to withhold or segregate ballots and barred the federal government from criminally charging workers based on claims of ineligible voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ruling is in response to federal prosecutors sending letters to all 58 county election officials demanding they set aside ballots from the list of 20,000 suspected noncitizens or face potential criminal charges. Prosecutors also have served some county election officials with \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/ca-election-officials-subpoenas/\">federal grand jury subpoenas\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Experts, counties question Trump’s numbers\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several county officials say they have done spot checks on the federal list, and they say the data is \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">riddled with inaccuracies\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The UCLA Voting Rights Project also submitted a brief to a federal court saying its data scientists found that 42% of the 20,000 names were “not anywhere to be found on the current California voter file.” The analysis \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcra.com/article/california-doj-voter-list-errors-analysis/74303367\">also found\u003c/a> that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government’s list.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/11/supreme-court-rejects-trump-ballot-case/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "dozens-of-californians-face-voter-fraud-charges-but-proving-the-violations-may-be-difficult",
"title": "Dozens of Californians Face Voter Fraud Charges. But Proving the Violations May Be Difficult",
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"headTitle": "Dozens of Californians Face Voter Fraud Charges. But Proving the Violations May Be Difficult | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 51-year-old business owner and father of seven was the first of more than three dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>residents to appear in court to face \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">allegations\u003c/a> by the federal government that they violated voting laws because they are not U.S. citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Camilo Giles Jimenez, a U.S. legal permanent resident from Mexico who, according to \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">the criminal complaint\u003c/a>, has lived outside Kerman, in Fresno County, since at least 2017, pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in downtown Fresno. The government charges say he voted in three elections in violation of the law that bans non-U.S. citizens from voting for president or Congress. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the 10-minute hearing before Judge Stanley A. Boone, federal public defender Erin Snider said Jimenez, who was dressed in a peach polo shirt, faded jeans and white Nike sneakers, owns a paving company. Neither Jimenez nor Snider answered questions from reporters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AP26292580333526-32bd8bdc-scaled-e1792439409172.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105146\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote to a processing facility at Federal Building in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justice Department officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">announced the charges\u003c/a> against Jimenez and 27 other California residents on Oct. 19 as part of a coordinated effort they said was designed “to root out fraud” in U.S. elections and protect electoral integrity. On Monday, the department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/six-additional-aliens-charged-illegal-voting-counties-fresno-kings-sacramento-solano\">announced charges\u003c/a> against 12 more people in California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the defendants are not charged with illegally voting, but with illegally registering to vote or lying on their naturalization applications. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More court appearances are set for the coming days and weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Legal experts say that to gain convictions for illegal voting, prosecutors must prove that these people willfully committed a crime, which could be difficult. Regardless of any criminal convictions, even legal residents could be deported whether or not they knew they were breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The cases and the people\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty-three of those accused are from Southern California, six are from the Bay Area, four are from the Sacramento region, and seven are from Fresno County and the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of those arrested in the mid-October sweep, 72-year-old Omar Muñoz of Commerce, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/he-was-arrested-for-noncitizen-voting-but-doesnt-know-why?srsltid=AYCX9vJ7W0oSaW66PdUm7gOZNXvIXCkWqYU2c-Luy-m4G6_GS1Aak_Xc\">told KCRW\u003c/a> that six police vehicles, a helicopter and at least six reporters arrived at his home just after 5 a.m. on Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s a show,” Muñoz told the station. “I said, ‘Wow!’ I said, ‘I’m not a killer.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Muñoz was still wearing pajamas when he was shackled around the waist and legs and transported to downtown Los Angeles. He was released that afternoon but would not speak to the specifics of the charges against him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justice department officials have said these indictments are the tip of the iceberg in what they allege is widespread voter fraud in California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said in a news release. “Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely non-citizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week. California refused to look at that list. Today’s charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday, a federal judge sided with California by rejecting a bid by the Trump administration to separate out any ballots sent in from people on that list. The decision by U.S. District Judge David Carter is a setback for the federal government in its efforts to exert more control over state-run elections ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied an appeal by the Department of Justice to wade into its fight with California over voter rolls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote in his \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513.149.0.pdf\">26-page decision\u003c/a>. “In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The California Newsroom tried to speak with many of the defendants and their lawyers, but except for Muñoz, all inquiries were turned down or received no response.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its case against Jimenez, the government alleges the Fresno County resident submitted a voter registration application to the Fresno County Registrar in 2022, and checked a box indicating he is a U.S. citizen. Jimenez is also accused of voting in recent elections.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">The complaint\u003c/a> said Jimenez subsequently told agents that he registered to vote after receiving his green card. Jimenez also said that he had been voting since 2023, according to the complaint, although he denied ever claiming he was a citizen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Standard of proof \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To prove its case against Jimenez and the other defendants, the government must show they deliberately broke federal law by voting as noncitizens, according to UCLA law professor Rick Hasen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/pdf/USCODE-2024-title18-partI-chap29-sec611.pdf\">federal statute\u003c/a> prohibits anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen from voting to elect the president or members of Congress. Doing so is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine or a combination of both.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107822\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, is joined by Erin Burke, left, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, and San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow during a news conference in Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2026. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“In order to violate the statute, there has to be proof that the person did so intentionally,” Hasen said. “That is, they knew they were not eligible, and they did it anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, Hasen said it is not necessarily considered intentional if a government office, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, mistakenly offers someone who is not a citizen the chance to register to vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Suppose you are told by a government official you can register to vote, even if you’re not a citizen, and the person registers, then they might be doing so knowing that they registered but not knowing that they were violating the law,” Hasen added.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even a statement that a defendant makes acknowledging that he or she voted would not automatically prove the government’s case, Hasen said. Prosecutors must still show defendants were knowingly and willfully breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said successful prosecutions or guilty pleas by noncitizens accused of voter fraud are rare.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It seems to be a very small problem relative to the number of voters in the country,” Hasen said, adding that it is more about “trying to make an example of some people, rather than showing evidence that there’s a massive problem of election fraud in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potential immigration consequences \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While intentionality is key to a criminal case, it may not matter when it comes to immigration consequences. Regardless of whether someone meant to break the law, unlawful voting and falsely claiming to be a citizen, including by signing a voter registration form, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12767\">can be grounds for deportation\u003c/a> and for denial of an application for U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the people charged have lived in the U.S. legally for years and are in the process of applying for citizenship, according to the federal complaints against them. That could now be denied to them, even if the government doesn’t move to deport them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanford University Law Professor Jennifer Chacón said that one reason noncitizen voting is rare is that the price to pay is so steep.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The fact that these individuals can be criminally prosecuted, barred from naturalization, subject to deportation, all demonstrates why, as a general rule, noncitizen voting is not a problem,” she said, “because there are many, many consequences to it, and people are generally aware of that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal prosecutors said that the names they provided in California are only a small fraction of a wider problem. “We are investigating thousands of more similar cases throughout the nation,” Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told reporters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the Department of Justice has emphasized that the number of noncitizens charged with voting and related offenses has grown to more than 150 in this Trump term from a total of 13 under Biden’s entire term, other analysts point out that it is small compared to the number of registered voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California has 23 million voters, Attorney General Bob Bonta noted, saying those who face charges in the state are “just a drop in the bucket numerically, and it makes the point that there is no widespread voter fraud.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101915782/bracing-for-the-coming-wave-of-legal-challenges-to-midterm-voting\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>, the UCLA Law Professor, Rick Hasen, cast doubt on the federal government’s statements. “What I think they’re actually trying to do,” he said, “is to project the image that there’s a widespread voter fraud problem in this country, and to kind of mimic the claims that President Trump has made, that noncitizens are voting in droves and affecting the outcome of elections.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was reported by\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/\">\u003cem>KVPR\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/\">\u003cem>KCRW\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>and\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>with\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem>The California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets that includes NPR, CalMatters, KQED (San Francisco), LAist and KCRW (Los Angeles), KPBS (San Diego) and other stations across the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A 51-year-old business owner and father of seven was the first of more than three dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>residents to appear in court to face \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">allegations\u003c/a> by the federal government that they violated voting laws because they are not U.S. citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Camilo Giles Jimenez, a U.S. legal permanent resident from Mexico who, according to \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">the criminal complaint\u003c/a>, has lived outside Kerman, in Fresno County, since at least 2017, pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in downtown Fresno. The government charges say he voted in three elections in violation of the law that bans non-U.S. citizens from voting for president or Congress. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Camilo Giles Jimenez, a U.S. legal permanent resident from Mexico who, according to \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">the criminal complaint\u003c/a>, has lived outside Kerman, in Fresno County, since at least 2017, pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in downtown Fresno. The government charges say he voted in three elections in violation of the law that bans non-U.S. citizens from voting for president or Congress. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>During the 10-minute hearing before Judge Stanley A. Boone, federal public defender Erin Snider said Jimenez, who was dressed in a peach polo shirt, faded jeans and white Nike sneakers, owns a paving company. Neither Jimenez nor Snider answered questions from reporters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>During the 10-minute hearing before Judge Stanley A. Boone, federal public defender Erin Snider said Jimenez, who was dressed in a peach polo shirt, faded jeans and white Nike sneakers, owns a paving company. Neither Jimenez nor Snider answered questions from reporters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AP26292580333526-32bd8bdc-scaled-e1792439409172.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105146\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote to a processing facility at Federal Building in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AP26292580333526-32bd8bdc-scaled-e1792439409172.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105146\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote to a processing facility at Federal Building in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2026. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Justice Department officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">announced the charges\u003c/a> against Jimenez and 27 other California residents on Oct. 19 as part of a coordinated effort they said was designed “to root out fraud” in U.S. elections and protect electoral integrity. On Monday, the department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/six-additional-aliens-charged-illegal-voting-counties-fresno-kings-sacramento-solano\">announced charges\u003c/a> against 12 more people in California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Justice Department officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">announced the charges\u003c/a> against Jimenez and 27 other California residents on Oct. 19 as part of a coordinated effort they said was designed “to root out fraud” in U.S. elections and protect electoral integrity. On Monday, the department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/six-additional-aliens-charged-illegal-voting-counties-fresno-kings-sacramento-solano\">announced charges\u003c/a> against 12 more people in California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the defendants are not charged with illegally voting, but with illegally registering to vote or lying on their naturalization applications. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the defendants are not charged with illegally voting, but with illegally registering to vote or lying on their naturalization applications. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>More court appearances are set for the coming days and weeks. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Legal experts say that to gain convictions for illegal voting, prosecutors must prove that these people willfully committed a crime, which could be difficult. Regardless of any criminal convictions, even legal residents could be deported whether or not they knew they were breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Legal experts say that to gain convictions for illegal voting, prosecutors must prove that these people willfully committed a crime, which could be difficult. Regardless of any criminal convictions, even legal residents could be deported whether or not they knew they were breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Twenty-three of those accused are from Southern California, six are from the Bay Area, four are from the Sacramento region, and seven are from Fresno County and the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Twenty-three of those accused are from Southern California, six are from the Bay Area, four are from the Sacramento region, and seven are from Fresno County and the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>One of those arrested in the mid-October sweep, 72-year-old Omar Muñoz of Commerce, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/he-was-arrested-for-noncitizen-voting-but-doesnt-know-why?srsltid=AYCX9vJ7W0oSaW66PdUm7gOZNXvIXCkWqYU2c-Luy-m4G6_GS1Aak_Xc\">told KCRW\u003c/a> that six police vehicles, a helicopter and at least six reporters arrived at his home just after 5 a.m. on Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>One of those arrested in the mid-October sweep, 72-year-old Omar Muñoz of Commerce, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/he-was-arrested-for-noncitizen-voting-but-doesnt-know-why?srsltid=AYCX9vJ7W0oSaW66PdUm7gOZNXvIXCkWqYU2c-Luy-m4G6_GS1Aak_Xc\">told KCRW\u003c/a> that six police vehicles, a helicopter and at least six reporters arrived at his home just after 5 a.m. on Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It’s a show,” Muñoz told the station. “I said, ‘Wow!’ I said, ‘I’m not a killer.’”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Muñoz was still wearing pajamas when he was shackled around the waist and legs and transported to downtown Los Angeles. He was released that afternoon but would not speak to the specifics of the charges against him.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Muñoz was still wearing pajamas when he was shackled around the waist and legs and transported to downtown Los Angeles. He was released that afternoon but would not speak to the specifics of the charges against him.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Justice department officials have said these indictments are the tip of the iceberg in what they allege is widespread voter fraud in California. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Justice department officials have said these indictments are the tip of the iceberg in what they allege is widespread voter fraud in California. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said in a news release. “Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely non-citizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week. California refused to look at that list. Today’s charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said in a news release. “Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely non-citizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week. California refused to look at that list. Today’s charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Wednesday, a federal judge sided with California by rejecting a bid by the Trump administration to separate out any ballots sent in from people on that list. The decision by U.S. District Judge David Carter is a setback for the federal government in its efforts to exert more control over state-run elections ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied an appeal by the Department of Justice to wade into its fight with California over voter rolls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Wednesday, a federal judge sided with California by rejecting a bid by the Trump administration to separate out any ballots sent in from people on that list. The decision by U.S. District Judge David Carter is a setback for the federal government in its efforts to exert more control over state-run elections ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied an appeal by the Department of Justice to wade into its fight with California over voter rolls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote in his \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513.149.0.pdf\">26-page decision\u003c/a>. “In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote in his \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513.149.0.pdf\">26-page decision\u003c/a>. “In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The California Newsroom tried to speak with many of the defendants and their lawyers, but except for Muñoz, all inquiries were turned down or received no response.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The California Newsroom tried to speak with many of the defendants and their lawyers, but except for Muñoz, all inquiries were turned down or received no response.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In its case against Jimenez, the government alleges the Fresno County resident submitted a voter registration application to the Fresno County Registrar in 2022, and checked a box indicating he is a U.S. citizen. Jimenez is also accused of voting in recent elections.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In its case against Jimenez, the government alleges the Fresno County resident submitted a voter registration application to the Fresno County Registrar in 2022, and checked a box indicating he is a U.S. citizen. Jimenez is also accused of voting in recent elections.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">The complaint\u003c/a> said Jimenez subsequently told agents that he registered to vote after receiving his green card. Jimenez also said that he had been voting since 2023, according to the complaint, although he denied ever claiming he was a citizen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">The complaint\u003c/a> said Jimenez subsequently told agents that he registered to vote after receiving his green card. Jimenez also said that he had been voting since 2023, according to the complaint, although he denied ever claiming he was a citizen.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>To prove its case against Jimenez and the other defendants, the government must show they deliberately broke federal law by voting as noncitizens, according to UCLA law professor Rick Hasen.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/pdf/USCODE-2024-title18-partI-chap29-sec611.pdf\">federal statute\u003c/a> prohibits anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen from voting to elect the president or members of Congress. Doing so is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine or a combination of both.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/pdf/USCODE-2024-title18-partI-chap29-sec611.pdf\">federal statute\u003c/a> prohibits anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen from voting to elect the president or members of Congress. Doing so is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine or a combination of both.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107822\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, is joined by Erin Burke, left, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, and San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow during a news conference in Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107822\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, is joined by Erin Burke, left, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, and San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow during a news conference in Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In order to violate the statute, there has to be proof that the person did so intentionally,” Hasen said. “That is, they knew they were not eligible, and they did it anyway.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“In order to violate the statute, there has to be proof that the person did so intentionally,” Hasen said. “That is, they knew they were not eligible, and they did it anyway.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>For example, Hasen said it is not necessarily considered intentional if a government office, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, mistakenly offers someone who is not a citizen the chance to register to vote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>For example, Hasen said it is not necessarily considered intentional if a government office, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, mistakenly offers someone who is not a citizen the chance to register to vote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Suppose you are told by a government official you can register to vote, even if you’re not a citizen, and the person registers, then they might be doing so knowing that they registered but not knowing that they were violating the law,” Hasen added.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Suppose you are told by a government official you can register to vote, even if you’re not a citizen, and the person registers, then they might be doing so knowing that they registered but not knowing that they were violating the law,” Hasen added.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Even a statement that a defendant makes acknowledging that he or she voted would not automatically prove the government’s case, Hasen said. Prosecutors must still show defendants were knowingly and willfully breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Even a statement that a defendant makes acknowledging that he or she voted would not automatically prove the government’s case, Hasen said. Prosecutors must still show defendants were knowingly and willfully breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said successful prosecutions or guilty pleas by noncitizens accused of voter fraud are rare.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It seems to be a very small problem relative to the number of voters in the country,” Hasen said, adding that it is more about “trying to make an example of some people, rather than showing evidence that there’s a massive problem of election fraud in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“It seems to be a very small problem relative to the number of voters in the country,” Hasen said, adding that it is more about “trying to make an example of some people, rather than showing evidence that there’s a massive problem of election fraud in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Potential immigration consequences ",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potential immigration consequences \u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While intentionality is key to a criminal case, it may not matter when it comes to immigration consequences. Regardless of whether someone meant to break the law, unlawful voting and falsely claiming to be a citizen, including by signing a voter registration form, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12767\">can be grounds for deportation\u003c/a> and for denial of an application for U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While intentionality is key to a criminal case, it may not matter when it comes to immigration consequences. Regardless of whether someone meant to break the law, unlawful voting and falsely claiming to be a citizen, including by signing a voter registration form, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12767\">can be grounds for deportation\u003c/a> and for denial of an application for U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Many of the people charged have lived in the U.S. legally for years and are in the process of applying for citizenship, according to the federal complaints against them. That could now be denied to them, even if the government doesn’t move to deport them.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Many of the people charged have lived in the U.S. legally for years and are in the process of applying for citizenship, according to the federal complaints against them. That could now be denied to them, even if the government doesn’t move to deport them.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Stanford University Law Professor Jennifer Chacón said that one reason noncitizen voting is rare is that the price to pay is so steep.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Stanford University Law Professor Jennifer Chacón said that one reason noncitizen voting is rare is that the price to pay is so steep.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The fact that these individuals can be criminally prosecuted, barred from naturalization, subject to deportation, all demonstrates why, as a general rule, noncitizen voting is not a problem,” she said, “because there are many, many consequences to it, and people are generally aware of that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The fact that these individuals can be criminally prosecuted, barred from naturalization, subject to deportation, all demonstrates why, as a general rule, noncitizen voting is not a problem,” she said, “because there are many, many consequences to it, and people are generally aware of that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors said that the names they provided in California are only a small fraction of a wider problem. “We are investigating thousands of more similar cases throughout the nation,” Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told reporters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors said that the names they provided in California are only a small fraction of a wider problem. “We are investigating thousands of more similar cases throughout the nation,” Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told reporters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>While the Department of Justice has emphasized that the number of noncitizens charged with voting and related offenses has grown to more than 150 in this Trump term from a total of 13 under Biden’s entire term, other analysts point out that it is small compared to the number of registered voters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>While the Department of Justice has emphasized that the number of noncitizens charged with voting and related offenses has grown to more than 150 in this Trump term from a total of 13 under Biden’s entire term, other analysts point out that it is small compared to the number of registered voters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California has 23 million voters, Attorney General Bob Bonta noted, saying those who face charges in the state are “just a drop in the bucket numerically, and it makes the point that there is no widespread voter fraud.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>California has 23 million voters, Attorney General Bob Bonta noted, saying those who face charges in the state are “just a drop in the bucket numerically, and it makes the point that there is no widespread voter fraud.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Speaking on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101915782/bracing-for-the-coming-wave-of-legal-challenges-to-midterm-voting\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>, the UCLA Law Professor, Rick Hasen, cast doubt on the federal government’s statements. “What I think they’re actually trying to do,” he said, “is to project the image that there’s a widespread voter fraud problem in this country, and to kind of mimic the claims that President Trump has made, that noncitizens are voting in droves and affecting the outcome of elections.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Speaking on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101915782/bracing-for-the-coming-wave-of-legal-challenges-to-midterm-voting\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>, the UCLA Law Professor, Rick Hasen, cast doubt on the federal government’s statements. “What I think they’re actually trying to do,” he said, “is to project the image that there’s a widespread voter fraud problem in this country, and to kind of mimic the claims that President Trump has made, that noncitizens are voting in droves and affecting the outcome of elections.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was reported by\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/\">\u003cem>KVPR\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/\">\u003cem>KCRW\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>and\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>with\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem>The California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets that includes NPR, CalMatters, KQED (San Francisco), LAist and KCRW (Los Angeles), KPBS (San Diego) and other stations across the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Election experts say the U.S. government must prove that noncitizens intentionally violated election law. Regardless, defendants may face dire immigration consequences.\n",
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"title": "Dozens of Californians Face Voter Fraud Charges. But Proving the Violations May Be Difficult | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 51-year-old business owner and father of seven was the first of more than three dozen \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/california\">California \u003c/a>residents to appear in court to face \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">allegations\u003c/a> by the federal government that they violated voting laws because they are not U.S. citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Camilo Giles Jimenez, a U.S. legal permanent resident from Mexico who, according to \u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">the criminal complaint\u003c/a>, has lived outside Kerman, in Fresno County, since at least 2017, pleaded not guilty to three misdemeanor counts on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in downtown Fresno. The government charges say he voted in three elections in violation of the law that bans non-U.S. citizens from voting for president or Congress. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the 10-minute hearing before Judge Stanley A. Boone, federal public defender Erin Snider said Jimenez, who was dressed in a peach polo shirt, faded jeans and white Nike sneakers, owns a paving company. Neither Jimenez nor Snider answered questions from reporters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/AP26292580333526-32bd8bdc-scaled-e1792439409172.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12105146\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Homeland Security Investigations task force officers escort a suspect accused of illegally registering to vote to a processing facility at Federal Building in Los Angeles on Oct. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justice Department officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-charges-28-foreign-nationals-california-election-crimes\">announced the charges\u003c/a> against Jimenez and 27 other California residents on Oct. 19 as part of a coordinated effort they said was designed “to root out fraud” in U.S. elections and protect electoral integrity. On Monday, the department \u003ca href=\"https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/six-additional-aliens-charged-illegal-voting-counties-fresno-kings-sacramento-solano\">announced charges\u003c/a> against 12 more people in California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the defendants are not charged with illegally voting, but with illegally registering to vote or lying on their naturalization applications. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More court appearances are set for the coming days and weeks. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Legal experts say that to gain convictions for illegal voting, prosecutors must prove that these people willfully committed a crime, which could be difficult. Regardless of any criminal convictions, even legal residents could be deported whether or not they knew they were breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The cases and the people\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Twenty-three of those accused are from Southern California, six are from the Bay Area, four are from the Sacramento region, and seven are from Fresno County and the Central Valley. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of those arrested in the mid-October sweep, 72-year-old Omar Muñoz of Commerce, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/shows/kcrw-reports/stories/he-was-arrested-for-noncitizen-voting-but-doesnt-know-why?srsltid=AYCX9vJ7W0oSaW66PdUm7gOZNXvIXCkWqYU2c-Luy-m4G6_GS1Aak_Xc\">told KCRW\u003c/a> that six police vehicles, a helicopter and at least six reporters arrived at his home just after 5 a.m. on Oct. 19. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It’s a show,” Muñoz told the station. “I said, ‘Wow!’ I said, ‘I’m not a killer.’”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Muñoz was still wearing pajamas when he was shackled around the waist and legs and transported to downtown Los Angeles. He was released that afternoon but would not speak to the specifics of the charges against him.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justice department officials have said these indictments are the tip of the iceberg in what they allege is widespread voter fraud in California. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Every illegal vote cancels out the vote of a lawful American citizen,” Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said in a news release. “Each of the 28 defendants charged today appears on the list of more than 20,000 likely non-citizen registrants we provided to California election officials last week. California refused to look at that list. Today’s charges show exactly what that refusal puts at risk.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wednesday, a federal judge sided with California by rejecting a bid by the Trump administration to separate out any ballots sent in from people on that list. The decision by U.S. District Judge David Carter is a setback for the federal government in its efforts to exert more control over state-run elections ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm. On Monday, the Supreme Court denied an appeal by the Department of Justice to wade into its fight with California over voter rolls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote in his \u003ca href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513/gov.uscourts.cacd.1043513.149.0.pdf\">26-page decision\u003c/a>. “In bringing this lawsuit, the Executive would have this Court believe that it reigns as a sole sovereign. But California and its people are sovereign, too.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The California Newsroom tried to speak with many of the defendants and their lawyers, but except for Muñoz, all inquiries were turned down or received no response.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its case against Jimenez, the government alleges the Fresno County resident submitted a voter registration application to the Fresno County Registrar in 2022, and checked a box indicating he is a U.S. citizen. Jimenez is also accused of voting in recent elections.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1T2p_9EHq-_wT05Kw7CRM4TvYElJM3qvR/view\">The complaint\u003c/a> said Jimenez subsequently told agents that he registered to vote after receiving his green card. Jimenez also said that he had been voting since 2023, according to the complaint, although he denied ever claiming he was a citizen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Standard of proof \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To prove its case against Jimenez and the other defendants, the government must show they deliberately broke federal law by voting as noncitizens, according to UCLA law professor Rick Hasen.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The \u003ca href=\"https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title18/pdf/USCODE-2024-title18-partI-chap29-sec611.pdf\">federal statute\u003c/a> prohibits anyone who isn’t a U.S. citizen from voting to elect the president or members of Congress. Doing so is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine or a combination of both.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12107822\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd.png 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd-160x107.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/11/110226-Essayli-Voting-DOJ-AP-CM-01-6bdc8ebd-1536x1024.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, is joined by Erin Burke, left, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, and San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow during a news conference in Los Angeles on Nov. 2, 2026. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“In order to violate the statute, there has to be proof that the person did so intentionally,” Hasen said. “That is, they knew they were not eligible, and they did it anyway.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, Hasen said it is not necessarily considered intentional if a government office, like the Department of Motor Vehicles, mistakenly offers someone who is not a citizen the chance to register to vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Suppose you are told by a government official you can register to vote, even if you’re not a citizen, and the person registers, then they might be doing so knowing that they registered but not knowing that they were violating the law,” Hasen added.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even a statement that a defendant makes acknowledging that he or she voted would not automatically prove the government’s case, Hasen said. Prosecutors must still show defendants were knowingly and willfully breaking the law.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said successful prosecutions or guilty pleas by noncitizens accused of voter fraud are rare.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“It seems to be a very small problem relative to the number of voters in the country,” Hasen said, adding that it is more about “trying to make an example of some people, rather than showing evidence that there’s a massive problem of election fraud in the United States.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Potential immigration consequences \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While intentionality is key to a criminal case, it may not matter when it comes to immigration consequences. Regardless of whether someone meant to break the law, unlawful voting and falsely claiming to be a citizen, including by signing a voter registration form, \u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12767\">can be grounds for deportation\u003c/a> and for denial of an application for U.S. citizenship. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many of the people charged have lived in the U.S. legally for years and are in the process of applying for citizenship, according to the federal complaints against them. That could now be denied to them, even if the government doesn’t move to deport them.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Stanford University Law Professor Jennifer Chacón said that one reason noncitizen voting is rare is that the price to pay is so steep.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The fact that these individuals can be criminally prosecuted, barred from naturalization, subject to deportation, all demonstrates why, as a general rule, noncitizen voting is not a problem,” she said, “because there are many, many consequences to it, and people are generally aware of that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal prosecutors said that the names they provided in California are only a small fraction of a wider problem. “We are investigating thousands of more similar cases throughout the nation,” Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, told reporters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the Department of Justice has emphasized that the number of noncitizens charged with voting and related offenses has grown to more than 150 in this Trump term from a total of 13 under Biden’s entire term, other analysts point out that it is small compared to the number of registered voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California has 23 million voters, Attorney General Bob Bonta noted, saying those who face charges in the state are “just a drop in the bucket numerically, and it makes the point that there is no widespread voter fraud.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking on \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101915782/bracing-for-the-coming-wave-of-legal-challenges-to-midterm-voting\">KQED’s Forum\u003c/a>, the UCLA Law Professor, Rick Hasen, cast doubt on the federal government’s statements. “What I think they’re actually trying to do,” he said, “is to project the image that there’s a widespread voter fraud problem in this country, and to kind of mimic the claims that President Trump has made, that noncitizens are voting in droves and affecting the outcome of elections.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was reported by\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kvpr.org/\">\u003cem>KVPR\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>,\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kcrw.com/\">\u003cem>KCRW\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>and\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/\">\u003cem>KQED\u003c/em>\u003c/a> \u003cem>with\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/californianewsroom\">\u003cem>The California Newsroom\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem>, a collaboration of public media outlets that includes NPR, CalMatters, KQED (San Francisco), LAist and KCRW (Los Angeles), KPBS (San Diego) and other stations across the state.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "over-40-of-names-on-doj-list-of-alleged-noncitizens-are-not-on-california-voter-rolls-analysis-finds",
"title": "Over 40% of Names on DOJ List of Alleged Noncitizens Are Not on California Voter Rolls, Analysis Finds",
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"headTitle": "Over 40% of Names on DOJ List of Alleged Noncitizens Are Not on California Voter Rolls, Analysis Finds | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 4 in 10 names flagged as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">possible noncitizen voters\u003c/a> in California by the Trump administration cannot be found on the state’s voter rolls, according to a legal filing Saturday by an immigrant rights group.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s the first outside analysis of a list that the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-justice\">Department of Justice\u003c/a> has used to threaten prosecution of election officials. The analysis also found that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government’s list.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088632\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edgardo Domingo fills out a ballot at a voting booth at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center in San José on Nov. 4, 2025. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The contention was made in a filing by two data analysts at the University of California, Los Angeles. They analyzed the 20,930 names that the department demanded that California election officials treat as possible illegal voters by separating their ballots during the vote count on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">Multiple judges\u003c/a> have rejected the demand as unconstitutional and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-481bed64919ad193e80e051d28beb2c0\">a threat to democracy\u003c/a>, and local and state officials have said the list appears riddled with errors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Court filing outlines problems with government list\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The breadth of the problems with the list was outlined in Saturday’s filing. It describes an analysis by two members of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, who filed a lawsuit challenging it with the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research found that 8,880 of the names, representing 42% of the entire list, do not correspond to anyone in California’s current voter file. It also found at least 22 are U.S. citizens, and many more may correspond to those of confirmed citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The expert analysis further makes clear that the mandated voter list endangers a significant number of eligible California voter,” said the filing, which was cosigned by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, the Democratic candidate for California governor and an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration had objected to sharing the list, calling it a “fishing expedition” and noting that it included sensitive information. On Saturday, the federal prosecutor who spearheaded the Trump case in California called the analysis “bogus.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This is a bogus report by the activist illegal immigrant rights group CHIRLA,” Bill Essayli, who runs the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, posted on X.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also on Saturday, President Donald Trump bemoaned the legal rulings against his effort to force California to separate votes from the individuals his administration labels suspected noncitizens, even though one came from a judge he himself nominated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a social media post, Trump claimed his Justice Department found “20,000, but potentially Hundreds of Thousands, and maybe even Millions,” of fraudulent votes, “and the Court has just ruled against it. Why would they reject fixing Election Fraud?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration has also \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/washington-noncitizen-voting-63c17a3eadc9ed232fbd897afbd29b9d\">urged Washington state to remove\u003c/a> what it says were 400 possible noncitizens on its rolls, though state election officials there say that list is also unreliable and includes one voter who cast ballots in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department has warned California election officials they could face criminal liability if they let noncitizens vote and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-20714065e59fe13db0e53c711a3ca390\">issued subpoenas\u003c/a> of election offices there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Election officials say they have no time to investigate\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Election officials have complained that the Trump administration has confronted them with lists of possible illegal voters at the last minute before Election Day, with no time to conduct the painstaking investigation required by law before removing someone from the rolls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Multiple lawsuits have been filed to stop the administration from continuing to threaten local election officials.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday, a federal judge in California \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">ordered the Justice Department\u003c/a> to stop sending demands to state officials, a decision the Trump administration appealed Saturday. Several counties in the state had run quick checks of the Trump list and found numerous errors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085815\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voters cast their ballots at the Parks Chapel AME Church in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saturday’s broader analysis was possible because a federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to share the list with the plaintiffs in the case.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CHIRLA and the UCLA project sued the Homeland Security Department in early October to prevent it from using federal immigration data to challenge state voter rolls. The lawsuit \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/alabama-voter-purge-allen-secretary-state-judge-6cec74a5bc2afef14beae6827d4cf971\">cited examples in other states\u003c/a> where the federal government’s data has been proven \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-noncitizens-voting-save-lawsuit-a9612cfffa40c938e67b99f265c9e817\">to mistakenly include\u003c/a> thousands of citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case argues that government’s methods pose risk to voting\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case argued that the data-matching methods risk disenfranchising or deterring citizens from voting. On top of that, plaintiffs argued, the lists could disproportionately target naturalized citizens who are legally entitled to vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Applying the government’s methodology, the UCLA researchers found that nearly 7,500 naturalized citizens in the state were “highly likely” to be incorrectly flagged as ineligible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers noted that the administration apparently removed the voter identification number from the names, making it harder for election officials to determine whether the flagged individuals were already on their rolls or were duplicates in the Justice Department list. They described the voter ID number as the most crucial data point.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department argues that there is just as much to lose if the ballots aren’t separated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Every ballot cast by an ineligible voter cancels out the vote of an American citizen,” Kiersten V. Pels, a spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email. “The Department makes no apology for protecting those votes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It’s the first outside analysis of a list that the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-justice\">Department of Justice\u003c/a> has used to threaten prosecution of election officials. The analysis also found that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government’s list.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It’s the first outside analysis of a list that the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-justice\">Department of Justice\u003c/a> has used to threaten prosecution of election officials. The analysis also found that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government’s list.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088632\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edgardo Domingo fills out a ballot at a voting booth at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center in San José on Nov. 4, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088632\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edgardo Domingo fills out a ballot at a voting booth at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center in San José on Nov. 4, 2025.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The contention was made in a filing by two data analysts at the University of California, Los Angeles. They analyzed the 20,930 names that the department demanded that California election officials treat as possible illegal voters by separating their ballots during the vote count on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The contention was made in a filing by two data analysts at the University of California, Los Angeles. They analyzed the 20,930 names that the department demanded that California election officials treat as possible illegal voters by separating their ballots during the vote count on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">Multiple judges\u003c/a> have rejected the demand as unconstitutional and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-481bed64919ad193e80e051d28beb2c0\">a threat to democracy\u003c/a>, and local and state officials have said the list appears riddled with errors.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">Multiple judges\u003c/a> have rejected the demand as unconstitutional and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-481bed64919ad193e80e051d28beb2c0\">a threat to democracy\u003c/a>, and local and state officials have said the list appears riddled with errors.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The breadth of the problems with the list was outlined in Saturday’s filing. It describes an analysis by two members of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, who filed a lawsuit challenging it with the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The breadth of the problems with the list was outlined in Saturday’s filing. It describes an analysis by two members of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, who filed a lawsuit challenging it with the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The research found that 8,880 of the names, representing 42% of the entire list, do not correspond to anyone in California’s current voter file. It also found at least 22 are U.S. citizens, and many more may correspond to those of confirmed citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The research found that 8,880 of the names, representing 42% of the entire list, do not correspond to anyone in California’s current voter file. It also found at least 22 are U.S. citizens, and many more may correspond to those of confirmed citizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The expert analysis further makes clear that the mandated voter list endangers a significant number of eligible California voter,” said the filing, which was cosigned by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, the Democratic candidate for California governor and an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The expert analysis further makes clear that the mandated voter list endangers a significant number of eligible California voter,” said the filing, which was cosigned by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, the Democratic candidate for California governor and an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration had objected to sharing the list, calling it a “fishing expedition” and noting that it included sensitive information. On Saturday, the federal prosecutor who spearheaded the Trump case in California called the analysis “bogus.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration had objected to sharing the list, calling it a “fishing expedition” and noting that it included sensitive information. On Saturday, the federal prosecutor who spearheaded the Trump case in California called the analysis “bogus.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is a bogus report by the activist illegal immigrant rights group CHIRLA,” Bill Essayli, who runs the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, posted on X.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This is a bogus report by the activist illegal immigrant rights group CHIRLA,” Bill Essayli, who runs the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, posted on X.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Also on Saturday, President Donald Trump bemoaned the legal rulings against his effort to force California to separate votes from the individuals his administration labels suspected noncitizens, even though one came from a judge he himself nominated.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Also on Saturday, President Donald Trump bemoaned the legal rulings against his effort to force California to separate votes from the individuals his administration labels suspected noncitizens, even though one came from a judge he himself nominated.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a social media post, Trump claimed his Justice Department found “20,000, but potentially Hundreds of Thousands, and maybe even Millions,” of fraudulent votes, “and the Court has just ruled against it. Why would they reject fixing Election Fraud?”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a social media post, Trump claimed his Justice Department found “20,000, but potentially Hundreds of Thousands, and maybe even Millions,” of fraudulent votes, “and the Court has just ruled against it. Why would they reject fixing Election Fraud?”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/washington-noncitizen-voting-63c17a3eadc9ed232fbd897afbd29b9d\">urged Washington state to remove\u003c/a> what it says were 400 possible noncitizens on its rolls, though state election officials there say that list is also unreliable and includes one voter who cast ballots in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has also \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/washington-noncitizen-voting-63c17a3eadc9ed232fbd897afbd29b9d\">urged Washington state to remove\u003c/a> what it says were 400 possible noncitizens on its rolls, though state election officials there say that list is also unreliable and includes one voter who cast ballots in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Justice Department has warned California election officials they could face criminal liability if they let noncitizens vote and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-20714065e59fe13db0e53c711a3ca390\">issued subpoenas\u003c/a> of election offices there.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Justice Department has warned California election officials they could face criminal liability if they let noncitizens vote and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-20714065e59fe13db0e53c711a3ca390\">issued subpoenas\u003c/a> of election offices there.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Election officials have complained that the Trump administration has confronted them with lists of possible illegal voters at the last minute before Election Day, with no time to conduct the painstaking investigation required by law before removing someone from the rolls.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Election officials have complained that the Trump administration has confronted them with lists of possible illegal voters at the last minute before Election Day, with no time to conduct the painstaking investigation required by law before removing someone from the rolls.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Multiple lawsuits have been filed to stop the administration from continuing to threaten local election officials.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Friday, a federal judge in California \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">ordered the Justice Department\u003c/a> to stop sending demands to state officials, a decision the Trump administration appealed Saturday. Several counties in the state had run quick checks of the Trump list and found numerous errors.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Friday, a federal judge in California \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">ordered the Justice Department\u003c/a> to stop sending demands to state officials, a decision the Trump administration appealed Saturday. Several counties in the state had run quick checks of the Trump list and found numerous errors.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085815\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voters cast their ballots at the Parks Chapel AME Church in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>CHIRLA and the UCLA project sued the Homeland Security Department in early October to prevent it from using federal immigration data to challenge state voter rolls. The lawsuit \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/alabama-voter-purge-allen-secretary-state-judge-6cec74a5bc2afef14beae6827d4cf971\">cited examples in other states\u003c/a> where the federal government’s data has been proven \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-noncitizens-voting-save-lawsuit-a9612cfffa40c938e67b99f265c9e817\">to mistakenly include\u003c/a> thousands of citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>CHIRLA and the UCLA project sued the Homeland Security Department in early October to prevent it from using federal immigration data to challenge state voter rolls. The lawsuit \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/alabama-voter-purge-allen-secretary-state-judge-6cec74a5bc2afef14beae6827d4cf971\">cited examples in other states\u003c/a> where the federal government’s data has been proven \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-noncitizens-voting-save-lawsuit-a9612cfffa40c938e67b99f265c9e817\">to mistakenly include\u003c/a> thousands of citizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The case argued that the data-matching methods risk disenfranchising or deterring citizens from voting. On top of that, plaintiffs argued, the lists could disproportionately target naturalized citizens who are legally entitled to vote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The case argued that the data-matching methods risk disenfranchising or deterring citizens from voting. On top of that, plaintiffs argued, the lists could disproportionately target naturalized citizens who are legally entitled to vote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Applying the government’s methodology, the UCLA researchers found that nearly 7,500 naturalized citizens in the state were “highly likely” to be incorrectly flagged as ineligible.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Applying the government’s methodology, the UCLA researchers found that nearly 7,500 naturalized citizens in the state were “highly likely” to be incorrectly flagged as ineligible.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The researchers noted that the administration apparently removed the voter identification number from the names, making it harder for election officials to determine whether the flagged individuals were already on their rolls or were duplicates in the Justice Department list. They described the voter ID number as the most crucial data point.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The researchers noted that the administration apparently removed the voter identification number from the names, making it harder for election officials to determine whether the flagged individuals were already on their rolls or were duplicates in the Justice Department list. They described the voter ID number as the most crucial data point.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Justice Department argues that there is just as much to lose if the ballots aren’t separated.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Every ballot cast by an ineligible voter cancels out the vote of an American citizen,” Kiersten V. Pels, a spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email. “The Department makes no apology for protecting those votes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Every ballot cast by an ineligible voter cancels out the vote of an American citizen,” Kiersten V. Pels, a spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email. “The Department makes no apology for protecting those votes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "More than 4 in 10 names flagged as possible noncitizen voters in California by the Trump administration can’t even be found on the state’s voter rolls. ",
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"title": "Over 40% of Names on DOJ List of Alleged Noncitizens Are Not on California Voter Rolls, Analysis Finds | KQED",
"description": "More than 4 in 10 names flagged as possible noncitizen voters in California by the Trump administration can’t even be found on the state’s voter rolls. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">More than 4 in 10 names flagged as \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">possible noncitizen voters\u003c/a> in California by the Trump administration cannot be found on the state’s voter rolls, according to a legal filing Saturday by an immigrant rights group.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It’s the first outside analysis of a list that the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/us-department-of-justice\">Department of Justice\u003c/a> has used to threaten prosecution of election officials. The analysis also found that thousands of U.S. citizens appear to be flagged as ineligible to vote on the government’s list.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12088632\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251104-SCCVOTE-JG-05_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Edgardo Domingo fills out a ballot at a voting booth at the Vietnamese American Cultural Center in San José on Nov. 4, 2025. (Joseph Geha/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The contention was made in a filing by two data analysts at the University of California, Los Angeles. They analyzed the 20,930 names that the department demanded that California election officials treat as possible illegal voters by separating their ballots during the vote count on Election Day.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">Multiple judges\u003c/a> have rejected the demand as unconstitutional and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-481bed64919ad193e80e051d28beb2c0\">a threat to democracy\u003c/a>, and local and state officials have said the list appears riddled with errors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Court filing outlines problems with government list\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The breadth of the problems with the list was outlined in Saturday’s filing. It describes an analysis by two members of UCLA’s Voting Rights Project, who filed a lawsuit challenging it with the Los Angeles-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, or CHIRLA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The research found that 8,880 of the names, representing 42% of the entire list, do not correspond to anyone in California’s current voter file. It also found at least 22 are U.S. citizens, and many more may correspond to those of confirmed citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The expert analysis further makes clear that the mandated voter list endangers a significant number of eligible California voter,” said the filing, which was cosigned by \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/hub/xavier-becerra\">Xavier Becerra\u003c/a>, the Democratic candidate for California governor and an adviser to the UCLA Voting Rights Project.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration had objected to sharing the list, calling it a “fishing expedition” and noting that it included sensitive information. On Saturday, the federal prosecutor who spearheaded the Trump case in California called the analysis “bogus.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This is a bogus report by the activist illegal immigrant rights group CHIRLA,” Bill Essayli, who runs the U.S. Attorney’s office in Los Angeles, posted on X.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also on Saturday, President Donald Trump bemoaned the legal rulings against his effort to force California to separate votes from the individuals his administration labels suspected noncitizens, even though one came from a judge he himself nominated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a social media post, Trump claimed his Justice Department found “20,000, but potentially Hundreds of Thousands, and maybe even Millions,” of fraudulent votes, “and the Court has just ruled against it. Why would they reject fixing Election Fraud?”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration has also \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/washington-noncitizen-voting-63c17a3eadc9ed232fbd897afbd29b9d\">urged Washington state to remove\u003c/a> what it says were 400 possible noncitizens on its rolls, though state election officials there say that list is also unreliable and includes one voter who cast ballots in the 1990s.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department has warned California election officials they could face criminal liability if they let noncitizens vote and \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-20714065e59fe13db0e53c711a3ca390\">issued subpoenas\u003c/a> of election offices there.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Election officials say they have no time to investigate\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Election officials have complained that the Trump administration has confronted them with lists of possible illegal voters at the last minute before Election Day, with no time to conduct the painstaking investigation required by law before removing someone from the rolls.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Multiple lawsuits have been filed to stop the administration from continuing to threaten local election officials.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Friday, a federal judge in California \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-noncitizen-voting-trump-midterm-lawsuit-49cee0f4184b0ecb573f9f0274350642\">ordered the Justice Department\u003c/a> to stop sending demands to state officials, a decision the Trump administration appealed Saturday. Several counties in the state had run quick checks of the Trump list and found numerous errors.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085815\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602-PRIMARYVOTERVOX-JY-08-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Voters cast their ballots at the Parks Chapel AME Church in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (Juliana Yamada for KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saturday’s broader analysis was possible because a federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to share the list with the plaintiffs in the case.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">CHIRLA and the UCLA project sued the Homeland Security Department in early October to prevent it from using federal immigration data to challenge state voter rolls. The lawsuit \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/alabama-voter-purge-allen-secretary-state-judge-6cec74a5bc2afef14beae6827d4cf971\">cited examples in other states\u003c/a> where the federal government’s data has been proven \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-elections-noncitizens-voting-save-lawsuit-a9612cfffa40c938e67b99f265c9e817\">to mistakenly include\u003c/a> thousands of citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Case argues that government’s methods pose risk to voting\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The case argued that the data-matching methods risk disenfranchising or deterring citizens from voting. On top of that, plaintiffs argued, the lists could disproportionately target naturalized citizens who are legally entitled to vote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Applying the government’s methodology, the UCLA researchers found that nearly 7,500 naturalized citizens in the state were “highly likely” to be incorrectly flagged as ineligible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The researchers noted that the administration apparently removed the voter identification number from the names, making it harder for election officials to determine whether the flagged individuals were already on their rolls or were duplicates in the Justice Department list. They described the voter ID number as the most crucial data point.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department argues that there is just as much to lose if the ballots aren’t separated.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Every ballot cast by an ineligible voter cancels out the vote of an American citizen,” Kiersten V. Pels, a spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email. “The Department makes no apology for protecting those votes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "doj-subpoenas-california-election-officials-despite-judges-order-to-stop-threatening-them",
"title": "DOJ Subpoenas California Election Officials, Despite Judge’s Order to Stop Threatening Them",
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"headTitle": "DOJ Subpoenas California Election Officials, Despite Judge’s Order to Stop Threatening Them | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday, a federal judge \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107158/judge-rejects-trump-administration-bid-to-set-aside-20000-california-ballots\">issued a blistering order\u003c/a> warning federal prosecutors to stop threatening California election officials with crimes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A day later, federal prosecutors kept going. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least four elections workers in California have received federal criminal grand jury subpoenas over the past week, with at least one delivered on Thursday after the court’s order.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that subpoena, issued to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’s office, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security are seeking unredacted voter records for 60 people, according to records obtained by CalMatters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085887\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colby Brown, rover supervisor at the Veterans Memorial Center voting center, seals a ballot drop box, in Davis on June 2, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The subpoenas signal an intensification of the federal government’s unprecedented targeting of California’s elections, setting up what could be a showdown over the fundamentals of American democracy around next Tuesday’s midterm elections. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prosecutors include those in the office of Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, a leading aide in President Donald Trump’s push to find evidence to support longstanding — and never proven — claims that California elections are rigged in Democrats’ favor due to noncitizen votes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-orders-criminal-probes-of-california-officials-over-ballots\">Bloomberg Law first reported\u003c/a> Thursday that U.S. Justice Department leaders had directed top federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of state and local officials in their efforts to find evidence that noncitizens were allowed to vote. The news outlet cited two unnamed sources familiar with the situation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This month Essayli sued California and Los Angeles County, demanding they set aside the ballots of 20,000 registered voters he accused of not being U.S. citizens, and last week the Justice Department sent letters threatening local elections officials with criminal charges if they did not do the same with lists of voters in their own counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County election officials from across California have said spot checks \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">found the government’s list of names to be inaccurate\u003c/a> and have challenged the legality of the requests. Officials in only one county so far – San Luis Obispo – have announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/district-attorney/latest-news/2026/october/district-attorney-investigating-63-federally-identified-registrations-and-local-election-referrals\">they will investigate\u003c/a> the voters from the Justice Department’s demand letters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the subpoenas say \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Los Angeles County, federal prosecutors last week subpoenaed three employees of the Registrar-Recorder’s Office, ordering them to testify before a grand jury in a criminal investigation on Nov. 4, the day after the election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors demanded county employees bring records of how their department prevents non-citizens from voting and “records relating to or involving evidence collected by your agency which tends to indicate an alien has voted in a federal election.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said prosecutors were taking a “confrontational, adversarial approach.” He said the federal judge’s warning to stop making threats directed at election officials “was well placed and appreciated.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Threats and intimidation have no place in elections,” Logan said. “We will take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety of our employees and to remain focused on serving the voters of Los Angeles County so they can exercise their voting franchise.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Orange County, federal agents obtained the new grand jury subpoena last week but elections officials received it Thursday. It is similar to previous information demands from federal prosecutors. Elections officials had in September produced records on 20 registered voters in response to subpoenas. On Thursday, Registrar of Voters Bob Page told CalMatters three of those names appeared again in the new subpoena.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal government downplayed the subpoenas and suggested elections officials weren’t the targets of its investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Receiving a subpoena doesn’t mean you are a target,” Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an emailed statement. “In fact, generally, the DOJ doesn’t subpoena targets.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Judge says ‘these threats must stop’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his courtroom on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter made it clear that the federal government needed to stop \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">threatening election workers with criminal charges\u003c/a> if they didn’t comply with prosecutors’ demands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He made the warning formal in his written ruling issued Wednesday evening. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11977756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A voter fills out their ballot at a polling station at the American Legion in Shasta Lake, California, during a special election in Shasta County on Nov. 7, 2023. (Fred Greaves/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The court reiterates what it said yesterday: these threats must stop,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department has appealed Carter’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Pels said prosecutors are merely doing what Carter told them to do: prosecute illegal voting if it’s found.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In expressing skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims, Carter told Essayli in court on Tuesday that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, federal prosecutors across California charged 28 people with registering to vote despite not being citizens. Not all of those people had voted in past elections; those charged amount to 0.0001% of the state’s 23 million registered voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli during the hearing. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“To be clear, the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure,” Pels wrote in her statement. “Consistent with this, California also wrote in its filing that the remedy for unlawful voting is through criminal prosecution. Thus, while DOJ maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justin Levitt, an elections law expert at Loyola Law School, said federal prosecutors can argue they’re carrying out a legitimate criminal investigation, but in that case, there shouldn’t be any rush to subpoena officials in the middle of the election. The statute of limitations on federal voting offenses, he noted, is five years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Because they have no role in affecting the election results, there is no reason whatsoever for them to demand this information now,” Levitt said. “It’s not directly against the judge’s order … but it’s certainly not going to make the judge happy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor representing the Santa Ana area, said he was appalled that his former employer was clearly attempting “to intimidate public officials in exercising their sworn duties.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I’m embarrassed and outraged that they’re trying to interfere with the election,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Essalyi didn’t return a text message seeking comment Thursday.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Professor Michael Vitiello, an expert on criminal law at the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, agreed that the federal government is trying to make election officials “insecure and fearful.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Maybe technically they’re trying to avoid direct conflict with the judge’s order, but they’re sure signaling that … election officials should lose some money, lose some sleep and maybe even go consult with lawyers,” Vitiello said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/ca-election-officials-subpoenas/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, a federal judge \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107158/judge-rejects-trump-administration-bid-to-set-aside-20000-california-ballots\">issued a blistering order\u003c/a> warning federal prosecutors to stop threatening California election officials with crimes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, a federal judge \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107158/judge-rejects-trump-administration-bid-to-set-aside-20000-california-ballots\">issued a blistering order\u003c/a> warning federal prosecutors to stop threatening California election officials with crimes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A day later, federal prosecutors kept going. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At least four elections workers in California have received federal criminal grand jury subpoenas over the past week, with at least one delivered on Thursday after the court’s order.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>At least four elections workers in California have received federal criminal grand jury subpoenas over the past week, with at least one delivered on Thursday after the court’s order.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In that subpoena, issued to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’s office, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security are seeking unredacted voter records for 60 people, according to records obtained by CalMatters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In that subpoena, issued to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’s office, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security are seeking unredacted voter records for 60 people, according to records obtained by CalMatters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085887\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colby Brown, rover supervisor at the Veterans Memorial Center voting center, seals a ballot drop box, in Davis on June 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085887\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colby Brown, rover supervisor at the Veterans Memorial Center voting center, seals a ballot drop box, in Davis on June 2, 2026.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The subpoenas signal an intensification of the federal government’s unprecedented targeting of California’s elections, setting up what could be a showdown over the fundamentals of American democracy around next Tuesday’s midterm elections. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The subpoenas signal an intensification of the federal government’s unprecedented targeting of California’s elections, setting up what could be a showdown over the fundamentals of American democracy around next Tuesday’s midterm elections. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The prosecutors include those in the office of Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, a leading aide in President Donald Trump’s push to find evidence to support longstanding — and never proven — claims that California elections are rigged in Democrats’ favor due to noncitizen votes.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The prosecutors include those in the office of Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, a leading aide in President Donald Trump’s push to find evidence to support longstanding — and never proven — claims that California elections are rigged in Democrats’ favor due to noncitizen votes.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-orders-criminal-probes-of-california-officials-over-ballots\">Bloomberg Law first reported\u003c/a> Thursday that U.S. Justice Department leaders had directed top federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of state and local officials in their efforts to find evidence that noncitizens were allowed to vote. The news outlet cited two unnamed sources familiar with the situation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-orders-criminal-probes-of-california-officials-over-ballots\">Bloomberg Law first reported\u003c/a> Thursday that U.S. Justice Department leaders had directed top federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of state and local officials in their efforts to find evidence that noncitizens were allowed to vote. The news outlet cited two unnamed sources familiar with the situation.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>This month Essayli sued California and Los Angeles County, demanding they set aside the ballots of 20,000 registered voters he accused of not being U.S. citizens, and last week the Justice Department sent letters threatening local elections officials with criminal charges if they did not do the same with lists of voters in their own counties.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>This month Essayli sued California and Los Angeles County, demanding they set aside the ballots of 20,000 registered voters he accused of not being U.S. citizens, and last week the Justice Department sent letters threatening local elections officials with criminal charges if they did not do the same with lists of voters in their own counties.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>County election officials from across California have said spot checks \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">found the government’s list of names to be inaccurate\u003c/a> and have challenged the legality of the requests. Officials in only one county so far – San Luis Obispo – have announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/district-attorney/latest-news/2026/october/district-attorney-investigating-63-federally-identified-registrations-and-local-election-referrals\">they will investigate\u003c/a> the voters from the Justice Department’s demand letters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>County election officials from across California have said spot checks \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">found the government’s list of names to be inaccurate\u003c/a> and have challenged the legality of the requests. Officials in only one county so far – San Luis Obispo – have announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/district-attorney/latest-news/2026/october/district-attorney-investigating-63-federally-identified-registrations-and-local-election-referrals\">they will investigate\u003c/a> the voters from the Justice Department’s demand letters. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles County, federal prosecutors last week subpoenaed three employees of the Registrar-Recorder’s Office, ordering them to testify before a grand jury in a criminal investigation on Nov. 4, the day after the election. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In Los Angeles County, federal prosecutors last week subpoenaed three employees of the Registrar-Recorder’s Office, ordering them to testify before a grand jury in a criminal investigation on Nov. 4, the day after the election. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Prosecutors demanded county employees bring records of how their department prevents non-citizens from voting and “records relating to or involving evidence collected by your agency which tends to indicate an alien has voted in a federal election.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Prosecutors demanded county employees bring records of how their department prevents non-citizens from voting and “records relating to or involving evidence collected by your agency which tends to indicate an alien has voted in a federal election.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said prosecutors were taking a “confrontational, adversarial approach.” He said the federal judge’s warning to stop making threats directed at election officials “was well placed and appreciated.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a statement, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said prosecutors were taking a “confrontational, adversarial approach.” He said the federal judge’s warning to stop making threats directed at election officials “was well placed and appreciated.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Threats and intimidation have no place in elections,” Logan said. “We will take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety of our employees and to remain focused on serving the voters of Los Angeles County so they can exercise their voting franchise.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Threats and intimidation have no place in elections,” Logan said. “We will take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety of our employees and to remain focused on serving the voters of Los Angeles County so they can exercise their voting franchise.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In Orange County, federal agents obtained the new grand jury subpoena last week but elections officials received it Thursday. It is similar to previous information demands from federal prosecutors. Elections officials had in September produced records on 20 registered voters in response to subpoenas. On Thursday, Registrar of Voters Bob Page told CalMatters three of those names appeared again in the new subpoena.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In Orange County, federal agents obtained the new grand jury subpoena last week but elections officials received it Thursday. It is similar to previous information demands from federal prosecutors. Elections officials had in September produced records on 20 registered voters in response to subpoenas. On Thursday, Registrar of Voters Bob Page told CalMatters three of those names appeared again in the new subpoena.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The federal government downplayed the subpoenas and suggested elections officials weren’t the targets of its investigation.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Receiving a subpoena doesn’t mean you are a target,” Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an emailed statement. “In fact, generally, the DOJ doesn’t subpoena targets.” \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“Receiving a subpoena doesn’t mean you are a target,” Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an emailed statement. “In fact, generally, the DOJ doesn’t subpoena targets.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Judge says ‘these threats must stop’\u003c/h2>\n",
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Judge says ‘these threats must stop’\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his courtroom on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter made it clear that the federal government needed to stop \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">threatening election workers with criminal charges\u003c/a> if they didn’t comply with prosecutors’ demands. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his courtroom on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter made it clear that the federal government needed to stop \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">threatening election workers with criminal charges\u003c/a> if they didn’t comply with prosecutors’ demands. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He made the warning formal in his written ruling issued Wednesday evening. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote. \u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The court reiterates what it said yesterday: these threats must stop,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The court reiterates what it said yesterday: these threats must stop,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Justice Department has appealed Carter’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Pels said prosecutors are merely doing what Carter told them to do: prosecute illegal voting if it’s found.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Justice Department has appealed Carter’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Pels said prosecutors are merely doing what Carter told them to do: prosecute illegal voting if it’s found.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In expressing skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims, Carter told Essayli in court on Tuesday that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In expressing skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims, Carter told Essayli in court on Tuesday that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Last week, federal prosecutors across California charged 28 people with registering to vote despite not being citizens. Not all of those people had voted in past elections; those charged amount to 0.0001% of the state’s 23 million registered voters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Last week, federal prosecutors across California charged 28 people with registering to vote despite not being citizens. Not all of those people had voted in past elections; those charged amount to 0.0001% of the state’s 23 million registered voters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli during the hearing. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli during the hearing. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“To be clear, the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure,” Pels wrote in her statement. “Consistent with this, California also wrote in its filing that the remedy for unlawful voting is through criminal prosecution. Thus, while DOJ maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“To be clear, the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure,” Pels wrote in her statement. “Consistent with this, California also wrote in its filing that the remedy for unlawful voting is through criminal prosecution. Thus, while DOJ maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Justin Levitt, an elections law expert at Loyola Law School, said federal prosecutors can argue they’re carrying out a legitimate criminal investigation, but in that case, there shouldn’t be any rush to subpoena officials in the middle of the election. The statute of limitations on federal voting offenses, he noted, is five years.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Justin Levitt, an elections law expert at Loyola Law School, said federal prosecutors can argue they’re carrying out a legitimate criminal investigation, but in that case, there shouldn’t be any rush to subpoena officials in the middle of the election. The statute of limitations on federal voting offenses, he noted, is five years.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Because they have no role in affecting the election results, there is no reason whatsoever for them to demand this information now,” Levitt said. “It’s not directly against the judge’s order … but it’s certainly not going to make the judge happy.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Because they have no role in affecting the election results, there is no reason whatsoever for them to demand this information now,” Levitt said. “It’s not directly against the judge’s order … but it’s certainly not going to make the judge happy.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor representing the Santa Ana area, said he was appalled that his former employer was clearly attempting “to intimidate public officials in exercising their sworn duties.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I’m embarrassed and outraged that they’re trying to interfere with the election,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Essalyi didn’t return a text message seeking comment Thursday.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Professor Michael Vitiello, an expert on criminal law at the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, agreed that the federal government is trying to make election officials “insecure and fearful.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor representing the Santa Ana area, said he was appalled that his former employer was clearly attempting “to intimidate public officials in exercising their sworn duties.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I’m embarrassed and outraged that they’re trying to interfere with the election,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Essalyi didn’t return a text message seeking comment Thursday.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Professor Michael Vitiello, an expert on criminal law at the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, agreed that the federal government is trying to make election officials “insecure and fearful.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Maybe technically they’re trying to avoid direct conflict with the judge’s order, but they’re sure signaling that … election officials should lose some money, lose some sleep and maybe even go consult with lawyers,” Vitiello said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Maybe technically they’re trying to avoid direct conflict with the judge’s order, but they’re sure signaling that … election officials should lose some money, lose some sleep and maybe even go consult with lawyers,” Vitiello said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/ca-election-officials-subpoenas/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A federal judge warned federal prosecutors to stop threatening California election officials, but prosecutors kept going. ",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Wednesday, a federal judge \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12107158/judge-rejects-trump-administration-bid-to-set-aside-20000-california-ballots\">issued a blistering order\u003c/a> warning federal prosecutors to stop threatening California election officials with crimes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A day later, federal prosecutors kept going. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At least four elections workers in California have received federal criminal grand jury subpoenas over the past week, with at least one delivered on Thursday after the court’s order.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In that subpoena, issued to the Orange County Registrar of Voters’s office, federal agents with the Department of Homeland Security are seeking unredacted voter records for 60 people, according to records obtained by CalMatters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085887\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/20260602_PRIMARY2026CD4_GC-6-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Colby Brown, rover supervisor at the Veterans Memorial Center voting center, seals a ballot drop box, in Davis on June 2, 2026. (Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The subpoenas signal an intensification of the federal government’s unprecedented targeting of California’s elections, setting up what could be a showdown over the fundamentals of American democracy around next Tuesday’s midterm elections. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The prosecutors include those in the office of Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, a leading aide in President Donald Trump’s push to find evidence to support longstanding — and never proven — claims that California elections are rigged in Democrats’ favor due to noncitizen votes.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003ca href=\"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-orders-criminal-probes-of-california-officials-over-ballots\">Bloomberg Law first reported\u003c/a> Thursday that U.S. Justice Department leaders had directed top federal prosecutors to pursue criminal subpoenas of state and local officials in their efforts to find evidence that noncitizens were allowed to vote. The news outlet cited two unnamed sources familiar with the situation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This month Essayli sued California and Los Angeles County, demanding they set aside the ballots of 20,000 registered voters he accused of not being U.S. citizens, and last week the Justice Department sent letters threatening local elections officials with criminal charges if they did not do the same with lists of voters in their own counties.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">County election officials from across California have said spot checks \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">found the government’s list of names to be inaccurate\u003c/a> and have challenged the legality of the requests. Officials in only one county so far – San Luis Obispo – have announced \u003ca href=\"https://www.slocounty.ca.gov/departments/district-attorney/latest-news/2026/october/district-attorney-investigating-63-federally-identified-registrations-and-local-election-referrals\">they will investigate\u003c/a> the voters from the Justice Department’s demand letters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What the subpoenas say \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Los Angeles County, federal prosecutors last week subpoenaed three employees of the Registrar-Recorder’s Office, ordering them to testify before a grand jury in a criminal investigation on Nov. 4, the day after the election. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Prosecutors demanded county employees bring records of how their department prevents non-citizens from voting and “records relating to or involving evidence collected by your agency which tends to indicate an alien has voted in a federal election.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a statement, Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean Logan said prosecutors were taking a “confrontational, adversarial approach.” He said the federal judge’s warning to stop making threats directed at election officials “was well placed and appreciated.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Threats and intimidation have no place in elections,” Logan said. “We will take whatever steps necessary to ensure the safety of our employees and to remain focused on serving the voters of Los Angeles County so they can exercise their voting franchise.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Orange County, federal agents obtained the new grand jury subpoena last week but elections officials received it Thursday. It is similar to previous information demands from federal prosecutors. Elections officials had in September produced records on 20 registered voters in response to subpoenas. On Thursday, Registrar of Voters Bob Page told CalMatters three of those names appeared again in the new subpoena.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The federal government downplayed the subpoenas and suggested elections officials weren’t the targets of its investigation.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Receiving a subpoena doesn’t mean you are a target,” Justice Department spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an emailed statement. “In fact, generally, the DOJ doesn’t subpoena targets.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Judge says ‘these threats must stop’\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his courtroom on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter made it clear that the federal government needed to stop \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">threatening election workers with criminal charges\u003c/a> if they didn’t comply with prosecutors’ demands. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He made the warning formal in his written ruling issued Wednesday evening. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” Carter wrote. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-11977756\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-800x534.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/03/CMPollWorkers02-1920x1281.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A voter fills out their ballot at a polling station at the American Legion in Shasta Lake, California, during a special election in Shasta County on Nov. 7, 2023. (Fred Greaves/CalMatters)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The court reiterates what it said yesterday: these threats must stop,” he wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department has appealed Carter’s ruling to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Pels said prosecutors are merely doing what Carter told them to do: prosecute illegal voting if it’s found.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In expressing skepticism about the Trump administration’s claims, Carter told Essayli in court on Tuesday that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Last week, federal prosecutors across California charged 28 people with registering to vote despite not being citizens. Not all of those people had voted in past elections; those charged amount to 0.0001% of the state’s 23 million registered voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli during the hearing. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“To be clear, the district court judge explained that voting unlawfully results in criminal exposure,” Pels wrote in her statement. “Consistent with this, California also wrote in its filing that the remedy for unlawful voting is through criminal prosecution. Thus, while DOJ maintains that a civil remedy is still available, all agree that noncitizen voting is properly addressed through criminal law.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justin Levitt, an elections law expert at Loyola Law School, said federal prosecutors can argue they’re carrying out a legitimate criminal investigation, but in that case, there shouldn’t be any rush to subpoena officials in the middle of the election. The statute of limitations on federal voting offenses, he noted, is five years.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Because they have no role in affecting the election results, there is no reason whatsoever for them to demand this information now,” Levitt said. “It’s not directly against the judge’s order … but it’s certainly not going to make the judge happy.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor representing the Santa Ana area, said he was appalled that his former employer was clearly attempting “to intimidate public officials in exercising their sworn duties.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I’m embarrassed and outraged that they’re trying to interfere with the election,” he said.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Essalyi didn’t return a text message seeking comment Thursday.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Professor Michael Vitiello, an expert on criminal law at the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, agreed that the federal government is trying to make election officials “insecure and fearful.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Maybe technically they’re trying to avoid direct conflict with the judge’s order, but they’re sure signaling that … election officials should lose some money, lose some sleep and maybe even go consult with lawyers,” Vitiello said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/ca-election-officials-subpoenas/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "judge-rejects-trump-administration-bid-to-set-aside-20000-california-ballots",
"title": "Judge Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots",
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"headTitle": "Judge Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saying the Trump administration had embarked on “a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference,” a federal judge on Wednesday refused to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106835/judge-says-trump-could-disenfranchise-voters-in-purge-of-noncitizens-from-election-rolls\">order California election officials to set aside 20,000 ballots\u003c/a> over claims those voters might not be citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” wrote U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28856709-carter-order/\">the judge wrote\u003c/a>, saying if he granted the Trump administration’s last-minute request “either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process. Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ruling is the latest legal defeat for the Trump administration as it has sought to find evidence that would validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims that Democrats win because of rigged elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter said he declined to be a party to a process that could disenfranchise voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable,” he wrote. “Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred. If the executive (branch) can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter also slammed the federal government for not providing a clear accounting of its methodology in creating the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">list of 20,000 possible noncitizens\u003c/a>, saying prosecutors provided vague explanations “and raised multiple questions regarding reliability.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal officials insist their list is mostly accurate and came from investigators correlating public voter files, government data and commercial databases, but prosecutors have acknowledged that some of the people on the list are likely citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State and county officials and civil rights groups have \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">said that the list\u003c/a> appears to be riddled with inaccuracies and it often omits key data such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers that would allow county officials to confirm who the people are.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a briefing with reporters Wednesday before Carter’s ruling, California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said the federal government’s case was little more than an “amateur hour” political stunt to validate Trump’s conspiracy theory that elections are rigged for Democrats.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s a joke. It’s embarrassing, but it is dangerous,” Bonta said. “They are trying to attack the fundamental right to vote with trash data.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a Fox News interview on Wednesday before the ruling, Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said the administration would appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We’re moving at a lightning pace because the way California does elections, everyone already has a ballot,” Essayli said. “Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been returned, and the counties already started processing those ballots. … That’s why we need an order now to separate and segregate these ballots — not to cancel any vote — just to sequester them so we can figure this out.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Higher court declined to intervene\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 9th Circuit panel already rejected one attempt by Essayli’s office to get an emergency order. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Monday to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">reject an urgent appeal\u003c/a> to bypass Carter’s courtroom. The federal government claimed the district judge didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile on Wednesday, a group of civil rights organizations, including California’s chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Trump administration and urged a federal court to block the administration’s “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The groups claim the initiative has been targeting and intimidating naturalized U.S. citizens, former green card holders who have gone through the citizenship process. The initiative directed immigration officials to generate target lists of possible noncitizen voters and to coordinate with ICE field offices to interrogate individuals it identified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The civil rights groups contend the federal government is using illegal tactics and faulty data to harass innocent legal voters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“These allegations are putting eligible voters — including naturalized U.S. citizens — at risk of disenfranchisement,” Theresa Lee, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “The administration can’t keep creating political stunts to sow distrust in our elections and lay the groundwork to question results they don’t like.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter noted in Wednesday’s ruling that those most at risk of being disenfranchised are naturalized citizens.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Individuals that the federal government recently identified as noncitizens on voter rolls in different states have repeatedly turned out to be naturalized citizens,” Carter wrote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The ACLU’s and other groups’ suit came a week after a federal judge in California issued an order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from doing in-person interrogations of people investigators suspect may be noncitizens. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge in that case, Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/10/22/nx-s1-6012682/judge-dhs-noncitizen-voting-operations\">ruled\u003c/a> that the federal government was relying on “faulty data sources that sweep in U.S. citizens” and was likely violating the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voter intimidation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martínez-Olguín’s order is in effect through Election Day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-ballot-claims-california-ruling/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Saying the Trump administration had embarked on “a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference,” a federal judge on Wednesday refused to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106835/judge-says-trump-could-disenfranchise-voters-in-purge-of-noncitizens-from-election-rolls\">order California election officials to set aside 20,000 ballots\u003c/a> over claims those voters might not be citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Saying the Trump administration had embarked on “a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference,” a federal judge on Wednesday refused to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106835/judge-says-trump-could-disenfranchise-voters-in-purge-of-noncitizens-from-election-rolls\">order California election officials to set aside 20,000 ballots\u003c/a> over claims those voters might not be citizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” wrote U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” wrote U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28856709-carter-order/\">the judge wrote\u003c/a>, saying if he granted the Trump administration’s last-minute request “either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process. Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28856709-carter-order/\">the judge wrote\u003c/a>, saying if he granted the Trump administration’s last-minute request “either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process. Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The ruling is the latest legal defeat for the Trump administration as it has sought to find evidence that would validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims that Democrats win because of rigged elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter said he declined to be a party to a process that could disenfranchise voters.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The ruling is the latest legal defeat for the Trump administration as it has sought to find evidence that would validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims that Democrats win because of rigged elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter said he declined to be a party to a process that could disenfranchise voters.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable,” he wrote. “Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred. If the executive (branch) can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>“Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable,” he wrote. “Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred. If the executive (branch) can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter also slammed the federal government for not providing a clear accounting of its methodology in creating the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">list of 20,000 possible noncitizens\u003c/a>, saying prosecutors provided vague explanations “and raised multiple questions regarding reliability.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Carter also slammed the federal government for not providing a clear accounting of its methodology in creating the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">list of 20,000 possible noncitizens\u003c/a>, saying prosecutors provided vague explanations “and raised multiple questions regarding reliability.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Federal officials insist their list is mostly accurate and came from investigators correlating public voter files, government data and commercial databases, but prosecutors have acknowledged that some of the people on the list are likely citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>Federal officials insist their list is mostly accurate and came from investigators correlating public voter files, government data and commercial databases, but prosecutors have acknowledged that some of the people on the list are likely citizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State and county officials and civil rights groups have \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">said that the list\u003c/a> appears to be riddled with inaccuracies and it often omits key data such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers that would allow county officials to confirm who the people are.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State and county officials and civil rights groups have \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">said that the list\u003c/a> appears to be riddled with inaccuracies and it often omits key data such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers that would allow county officials to confirm who the people are.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a briefing with reporters Wednesday before Carter’s ruling, California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said the federal government’s case was little more than an “amateur hour” political stunt to validate Trump’s conspiracy theory that elections are rigged for Democrats.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s a joke. It’s embarrassing, but it is dangerous,” Bonta said. “They are trying to attack the fundamental right to vote with trash data.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a briefing with reporters Wednesday before Carter’s ruling, California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said the federal government’s case was little more than an “amateur hour” political stunt to validate Trump’s conspiracy theory that elections are rigged for Democrats.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s a joke. It’s embarrassing, but it is dangerous,” Bonta said. “They are trying to attack the fundamental right to vote with trash data.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a Fox News interview on Wednesday before the ruling, Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said the administration would appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We’re moving at a lightning pace because the way California does elections, everyone already has a ballot,” Essayli said. “Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been returned, and the counties already started processing those ballots. … That’s why we need an order now to separate and segregate these ballots — not to cancel any vote — just to sequester them so we can figure this out.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a Fox News interview on Wednesday before the ruling, Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said the administration would appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We’re moving at a lightning pace because the way California does elections, everyone already has a ballot,” Essayli said. “Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been returned, and the counties already started processing those ballots. … That’s why we need an order now to separate and segregate these ballots — not to cancel any vote — just to sequester them so we can figure this out.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Higher court declined to intervene\u003c/h2>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A 9th Circuit panel already rejected one attempt by Essayli’s office to get an emergency order. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Monday to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">reject an urgent appeal\u003c/a> to bypass Carter’s courtroom. The federal government claimed the district judge didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>A 9th Circuit panel already rejected one attempt by Essayli’s office to get an emergency order. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Monday to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">reject an urgent appeal\u003c/a> to bypass Carter’s courtroom. The federal government claimed the district judge didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Meanwhile on Wednesday, a group of civil rights organizations, including California’s chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Trump administration and urged a federal court to block the administration’s “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Meanwhile on Wednesday, a group of civil rights organizations, including California’s chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Trump administration and urged a federal court to block the administration’s “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The groups claim the initiative has been targeting and intimidating naturalized U.S. citizens, former green card holders who have gone through the citizenship process. The initiative directed immigration officials to generate target lists of possible noncitizen voters and to coordinate with ICE field offices to interrogate individuals it identified.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The groups claim the initiative has been targeting and intimidating naturalized U.S. citizens, former green card holders who have gone through the citizenship process. The initiative directed immigration officials to generate target lists of possible noncitizen voters and to coordinate with ICE field offices to interrogate individuals it identified.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The civil rights groups contend the federal government is using illegal tactics and faulty data to harass innocent legal voters. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“These allegations are putting eligible voters — including naturalized U.S. citizens — at risk of disenfranchisement,” Theresa Lee, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “The administration can’t keep creating political stunts to sow distrust in our elections and lay the groundwork to question results they don’t like.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter noted in Wednesday’s ruling that those most at risk of being disenfranchised are naturalized citizens.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Individuals that the federal government recently identified as noncitizens on voter rolls in different states have repeatedly turned out to be naturalized citizens,” Carter wrote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The ACLU’s and other groups’ suit came a week after a federal judge in California issued an order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from doing in-person interrogations of people investigators suspect may be noncitizens. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“These allegations are putting eligible voters — including naturalized U.S. citizens — at risk of disenfranchisement,” Theresa Lee, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “The administration can’t keep creating political stunts to sow distrust in our elections and lay the groundwork to question results they don’t like.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter noted in Wednesday’s ruling that those most at risk of being disenfranchised are naturalized citizens.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Individuals that the federal government recently identified as noncitizens on voter rolls in different states have repeatedly turned out to be naturalized citizens,” Carter wrote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The ACLU’s and other groups’ suit came a week after a federal judge in California issued an order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from doing in-person interrogations of people investigators suspect may be noncitizens. \u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "A federal judge refused to order California to set aside 20,000 ballots, citing a ‘pattern of attempted election interference’ by the Trump administration.",
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"title": "Judge Rejects Trump Administration Bid to Set Aside 20,000 California Ballots | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saying the Trump administration had embarked on “a broad, ongoing pattern of attempted election interference,” a federal judge on Wednesday refused to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106835/judge-says-trump-could-disenfranchise-voters-in-purge-of-noncitizens-from-election-rolls\">order California election officials to set aside 20,000 ballots\u003c/a> over claims those voters might not be citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Never before in American history has the federal government, on the eve of an election, sought to coerce a state and local government to abandon their own Constitutional elections procedures and bend to the will of the Executive Branch,” wrote U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“This request violates longstanding constitutional principles mandating that states have control over their elections,” \u003ca href=\"https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28856709-carter-order/\">the judge wrote\u003c/a>, saying if he granted the Trump administration’s last-minute request “either party could create chaos for their own political purposes to disrupt the election process. Over 20,000 registered Californians would potentially lose the right that generations of Americans have fought to preserve.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ruling is the latest legal defeat for the Trump administration as it has sought to find evidence that would validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims that Democrats win because of rigged elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter said he declined to be a party to a process that could disenfranchise voters.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Eroded trust in our democracy is irreparable,” he wrote. “Once a vote is segregated, lasting harm has occurred. If the executive (branch) can discount votes and threaten an ongoing election due to unproven allegations, then our democracy is in danger.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter also slammed the federal government for not providing a clear accounting of its methodology in creating the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">list of 20,000 possible noncitizens\u003c/a>, saying prosecutors provided vague explanations “and raised multiple questions regarding reliability.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal officials insist their list is mostly accurate and came from investigators correlating public voter files, government data and commercial databases, but prosecutors have acknowledged that some of the people on the list are likely citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State and county officials and civil rights groups have \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-voting-claims-counties/\">said that the list\u003c/a> appears to be riddled with inaccuracies and it often omits key data such as Social Security and driver’s license numbers that would allow county officials to confirm who the people are.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a briefing with reporters Wednesday before Carter’s ruling, California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said the federal government’s case was little more than an “amateur hour” political stunt to validate Trump’s conspiracy theory that elections are rigged for Democrats.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“It’s a joke. It’s embarrassing, but it is dangerous,” Bonta said. “They are trying to attack the fundamental right to vote with trash data.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a Fox News interview on Wednesday before the ruling, Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said the administration would appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and possibly to the U.S. Supreme Court.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We’re moving at a lightning pace because the way California does elections, everyone already has a ballot,” Essayli said. “Hundreds of thousands of ballots have already been returned, and the counties already started processing those ballots. … That’s why we need an order now to separate and segregate these ballots — not to cancel any vote — just to sequester them so we can figure this out.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Higher court declined to intervene\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 9th Circuit panel already rejected one attempt by Essayli’s office to get an emergency order. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 Monday to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">reject an urgent appeal\u003c/a> to bypass Carter’s courtroom. The federal government claimed the district judge didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile on Wednesday, a group of civil rights organizations, including California’s chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union, sued the Trump administration and urged a federal court to block the administration’s “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The groups claim the initiative has been targeting and intimidating naturalized U.S. citizens, former green card holders who have gone through the citizenship process. The initiative directed immigration officials to generate target lists of possible noncitizen voters and to coordinate with ICE field offices to interrogate individuals it identified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The civil rights groups contend the federal government is using illegal tactics and faulty data to harass innocent legal voters. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“These allegations are putting eligible voters — including naturalized U.S. citizens — at risk of disenfranchisement,” Theresa Lee, an attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. “The administration can’t keep creating political stunts to sow distrust in our elections and lay the groundwork to question results they don’t like.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Carter noted in Wednesday’s ruling that those most at risk of being disenfranchised are naturalized citizens.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“Individuals that the federal government recently identified as noncitizens on voter rolls in different states have repeatedly turned out to be naturalized citizens,” Carter wrote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>The ACLU’s and other groups’ suit came a week after a federal judge in California issued an order blocking the Department of Homeland Security from doing in-person interrogations of people investigators suspect may be noncitizens. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge in that case, Araceli Martínez-Olguín, who was appointed by President Joe Biden, \u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/2026/10/22/nx-s1-6012682/judge-dhs-noncitizen-voting-operations\">ruled\u003c/a> that the federal government was relying on “faulty data sources that sweep in U.S. citizens” and was likely violating the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voter intimidation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Martínez-Olguín’s order is in effect through Election Day. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-ballot-claims-california-ruling/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "california-democrats-push-back-on-reports-of-trump-administration-plans-to-deport-immigrants-by-ship",
"title": "California Democrats Push Back on Reports of Trump Administration Plans to Deport Immigrants by Ship",
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"headTitle": "California Democrats Push Back on Reports of Trump Administration Plans to Deport Immigrants by Ship | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pair of California congressmembers are mounting resistance to the Trump administration after reports of a proposal to use ships — including a maritime training vessel at Mare Island — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">for deportation\u003c/a> voyages.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday, Democratic Reps. John Garamendi, who represents Solano County, and Salud Carbajal, of Santa Barbara, said the plan “is outrageous and should be immediately discarded.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garamendi is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, and his district includes the Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, where the 500-foot Golden Bear has served as a training ship for mariners over three decades. He told KQED that deportation journeys by ship could take many days, as opposed to hours on an airplane, and would be costly and inhumane.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076926\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. John Garamendi, D-California, at the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on June 16, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“An airplane is expensive enough. A ship is several times more expensive,” he said. “Immigrants are often \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103799/bay-area-officials-immigration-advocates-brace-for-ice-surge-after-central-valley-arrests\">detained\u003c/a> in very unsafe facilities. Immigrants have died in these facilities. And to add to this complex, dangerous program of detention, to put immigrants on a ship in the middle of the ocean with no healthcare anywhere nearby … makes absolutely no sense.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter follows \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/trump-deportations-boats-ships.html\">reporting\u003c/a> by the New York Times earlier this month that the departments of Homeland Security and Defense are considering a plan to use ships, possibly including ferries and commercial vessels as well as the Golden Bear, to transport hundreds of people to Central and South America. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Golden Bear served as a training vessel at Cal Poly Maritime Academy for 30 years. It is \u003ca href=\"https://maritime.calpoly.edu/news/golden-bear-golden-state-new-era-cal-poly-maritime-academy\">set to be transferred\u003c/a> back to the U.S. Maritime Administration as the academy transitions in the coming months to a new training ship, according to the academy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Golden Bear has been an invaluable floating classroom that just returned from a three-month trip training cadets on navigation, engine mechanics and other skills essential to the maritime industry and military fields, Garamendi said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Any efforts to use the Golden Bear as a floating prison to hold, detain and deport migrants would be a dangerous misuse of government and taxpayer property,” the letter to Mullin said. “Mass relocations by sea would require moving hundreds of detained individuals through international waters and raises enormous operational, safety and legal challenges.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, the congressmembers said, “the plan recalls catastrophic historical examples of deportations by sea that violated human rights and resulted in deadly consequences.” They reference 19th-century expulsions of Irish refugees and Chinese immigrants, and mass deportations of Mexicans in the 20th century, all of which employed ships.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garamendi said he’s not opposed to immigration enforcement, but he faulted Republicans for scuttling Democratic legislation to address immigration issues “humanely and sanely,” and instead turning to strategies he called cruel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The entire Trump immigration program to deport the worst of the worst has descended into deporting anybody they can get their hands on, and often doing it in a very, very dangerous way,” he said, adding the plan for deportation ships “makes no sense at all. Do not do it. Don’t even consider it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment by press time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Garamendi is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, and his district includes the Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, where the 500-foot Golden Bear has served as a training ship for mariners over three decades. He told KQED that deportation journeys by ship could take many days, as opposed to hours on an airplane, and would be costly and inhumane.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Garamendi is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, and his district includes the Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, where the 500-foot Golden Bear has served as a training ship for mariners over three decades. He told KQED that deportation journeys by ship could take many days, as opposed to hours on an airplane, and would be costly and inhumane.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The letter follows \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/trump-deportations-boats-ships.html\">reporting\u003c/a> by the New York Times earlier this month that the departments of Homeland Security and Defense are considering a plan to use ships, possibly including ferries and commercial vessels as well as the Golden Bear, to transport hundreds of people to Central and South America. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Golden Bear has been an invaluable floating classroom that just returned from a three-month trip training cadets on navigation, engine mechanics and other skills essential to the maritime industry and military fields, Garamendi said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Any efforts to use the Golden Bear as a floating prison to hold, detain and deport migrants would be a dangerous misuse of government and taxpayer property,” the letter to Mullin said. “Mass relocations by sea would require moving hundreds of detained individuals through international waters and raises enormous operational, safety and legal challenges.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In addition, the congressmembers said, “the plan recalls catastrophic historical examples of deportations by sea that violated human rights and resulted in deadly consequences.” They reference 19th-century expulsions of Irish refugees and Chinese immigrants, and mass deportations of Mexicans in the 20th century, all of which employed ships.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Garamendi said he’s not opposed to immigration enforcement, but he faulted Republicans for scuttling Democratic legislation to address immigration issues “humanely and sanely,” and instead turning to strategies he called cruel.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The entire Trump immigration program to deport the worst of the worst has descended into deporting anybody they can get their hands on, and often doing it in a very, very dangerous way,” he said, adding the plan for deportation ships “makes no sense at all. Do not do it. Don’t even consider it.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“The entire Trump immigration program to deport the worst of the worst has descended into deporting anybody they can get their hands on, and often doing it in a very, very dangerous way,” he said, adding the plan for deportation ships “makes no sense at all. Do not do it. Don’t even consider it.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Rep. John Garamendi opposes plans to use a maritime training vessel at Mare Island. ",
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"title": "California Democrats Push Back on Reports of Trump Administration Plans to Deport Immigrants by Ship | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A pair of California congressmembers are mounting resistance to the Trump administration after reports of a proposal to use ships — including a maritime training vessel at Mare Island — \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">for deportation\u003c/a> voyages.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>In a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Tuesday, Democratic Reps. John Garamendi, who represents Solano County, and Salud Carbajal, of Santa Barbara, said the plan “is outrageous and should be immediately discarded.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garamendi is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, and his district includes the Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, where the 500-foot Golden Bear has served as a training ship for mariners over three decades. He told KQED that deportation journeys by ship could take many days, as opposed to hours on an airplane, and would be costly and inhumane.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1332\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12076926\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/03/John-Garamendi-Getty-1536x1023.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. John Garamendi, D-California, at the U.S. Capitol after the last votes of the week on June 16, 2022. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“An airplane is expensive enough. A ship is several times more expensive,” he said. “Immigrants are often \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12103799/bay-area-officials-immigration-advocates-brace-for-ice-surge-after-central-valley-arrests\">detained\u003c/a> in very unsafe facilities. Immigrants have died in these facilities. And to add to this complex, dangerous program of detention, to put immigrants on a ship in the middle of the ocean with no healthcare anywhere nearby … makes absolutely no sense.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letter follows \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/us/trump-deportations-boats-ships.html\">reporting\u003c/a> by the New York Times earlier this month that the departments of Homeland Security and Defense are considering a plan to use ships, possibly including ferries and commercial vessels as well as the Golden Bear, to transport hundreds of people to Central and South America. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Golden Bear served as a training vessel at Cal Poly Maritime Academy for 30 years. It is \u003ca href=\"https://maritime.calpoly.edu/news/golden-bear-golden-state-new-era-cal-poly-maritime-academy\">set to be transferred\u003c/a> back to the U.S. Maritime Administration as the academy transitions in the coming months to a new training ship, according to the academy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Golden Bear has been an invaluable floating classroom that just returned from a three-month trip training cadets on navigation, engine mechanics and other skills essential to the maritime industry and military fields, Garamendi said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Any efforts to use the Golden Bear as a floating prison to hold, detain and deport migrants would be a dangerous misuse of government and taxpayer property,” the letter to Mullin said. “Mass relocations by sea would require moving hundreds of detained individuals through international waters and raises enormous operational, safety and legal challenges.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In addition, the congressmembers said, “the plan recalls catastrophic historical examples of deportations by sea that violated human rights and resulted in deadly consequences.” They reference 19th-century expulsions of Irish refugees and Chinese immigrants, and mass deportations of Mexicans in the 20th century, all of which employed ships.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Garamendi said he’s not opposed to immigration enforcement, but he faulted Republicans for scuttling Democratic legislation to address immigration issues “humanely and sanely,” and instead turning to strategies he called cruel.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“The entire Trump immigration program to deport the worst of the worst has descended into deporting anybody they can get their hands on, and often doing it in a very, very dangerous way,” he said, adding the plan for deportation ships “makes no sense at all. Do not do it. Don’t even consider it.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Homeland Security officials did not immediately respond to KQED’s request for comment by press time.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "judge-says-trump-could-disenfranchise-voters-in-purge-of-noncitizens-from-election-rolls",
"title": "Judge Says Trump Could Disenfranchise Voters in Purge of Noncitizens From Election Rolls",
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"headTitle": "Judge Says Trump Could Disenfranchise Voters in Purge of Noncitizens From Election Rolls | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">mailed to noncitizens\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Some of these may be very valid voters, and that’s my concern about disenfranchisement,” said U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106247/doj-orders-contra-costa-other-california-counties-to-verify-ballots\">sent letters to California election officials\u003c/a> telling them to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085438\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Election workers sort ballots at Contra Costa County’s election operations facility on May 27, 2026, in Martinez, California. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I just want to make sure the stakes are clear: that what we’re talking about is stripping voting rights from thousands of people until proven otherwise,” said Anne Bellows, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Judge points to immigrant arrests\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State and county officials also have questioned the methodology the federal government used to flag possible noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a court filing, Los Angeles County officials said that a sampling of 200 names from the federal list, which included people from all over California, found that many of them were likely citizens and that most had not voted before and were not sent ballots. Federal investigators re-reviewed those 200 names and found that only four were citizens, Essayli told the judge.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We stand by the reliability of the information,” he said. “We take our obligations and ethics very seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter noted that, last week, federal prosecutors charged \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-federal-arrests-voter-fraud/\">28 California green card holders\u003c/a> for allegedly voting or registering to vote in violation of laws prohibiting noncitizens from participating in elections. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the hearing, Essayli said from the courthouse steps that the state could “resolve this today.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They just seem disinterested in getting to the bottom of this,” Essayli said, noting that the number of ballots in question could tip smaller elections. “A lot of elections are decided by tens of votes or hundreds of votes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9th Circuit ruled against Trump\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing came a day after two judges on a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">rejected an emergency effort\u003c/a> from the Trump administration to bypass Carter’s courtroom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration sought an emergency order from the appellate court, claiming that Carter didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough. The two judges said prosecutors’ arguments about urgency didn’t hold up.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their ruling noted that the prosecutors have been making claims about illegal voters on California’s voter rolls since July and could have taken action any time since, so their “claimed emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, noted in a concurring opinion that he had “serious doubts” about the federal government’s claims that prosecutors could “superintend or intervene in a state’s election administration.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He wrote that Congress granted states — not the executive branch — authority over elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>In a dissenting opinion, Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, argued that “federal law precludes California from commingling ballots likely cast by aliens with legitimate ballots, because it encourages and induces illegal voting.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Stopping that practice for those identified as likely noncitizens is the bare minimum,” Bumatay wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">mailed to noncitizens\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106247/doj-orders-contra-costa-other-california-counties-to-verify-ballots\">sent letters to California election officials\u003c/a> telling them to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106247/doj-orders-contra-costa-other-california-counties-to-verify-ballots\">sent letters to California election officials\u003c/a> telling them to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I just want to make sure the stakes are clear: that what we’re talking about is stripping voting rights from thousands of people until proven otherwise,” said Anne Bellows, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I just want to make sure the stakes are clear: that what we’re talking about is stripping voting rights from thousands of people until proven otherwise,” said Anne Bellows, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>State and county officials also have questioned the methodology the federal government used to flag possible noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>State and county officials also have questioned the methodology the federal government used to flag possible noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a court filing, Los Angeles County officials said that a sampling of 200 names from the federal list, which included people from all over California, found that many of them were likely citizens and that most had not voted before and were not sent ballots. Federal investigators re-reviewed those 200 names and found that only four were citizens, Essayli told the judge.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We stand by the reliability of the information,” he said. “We take our obligations and ethics very seriously.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In a court filing, Los Angeles County officials said that a sampling of 200 names from the federal list, which included people from all over California, found that many of them were likely citizens and that most had not voted before and were not sent ballots. Federal investigators re-reviewed those 200 names and found that only four were citizens, Essayli told the judge.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We stand by the reliability of the information,” he said. “We take our obligations and ethics very seriously.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Carter noted that, last week, federal prosecutors charged \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-federal-arrests-voter-fraud/\">28 California green card holders\u003c/a> for allegedly voting or registering to vote in violation of laws prohibiting noncitizens from participating in elections. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Carter noted that, last week, federal prosecutors charged \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-federal-arrests-voter-fraud/\">28 California green card holders\u003c/a> for allegedly voting or registering to vote in violation of laws prohibiting noncitizens from participating in elections. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He said that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>He said that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After the hearing, Essayli said from the courthouse steps that the state could “resolve this today.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They just seem disinterested in getting to the bottom of this,” Essayli said, noting that the number of ballots in question could tip smaller elections. “A lot of elections are decided by tens of votes or hundreds of votes.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They just seem disinterested in getting to the bottom of this,” Essayli said, noting that the number of ballots in question could tip smaller elections. “A lot of elections are decided by tens of votes or hundreds of votes.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The hearing came a day after two judges on a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">rejected an emergency effort\u003c/a> from the Trump administration to bypass Carter’s courtroom. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The hearing came a day after two judges on a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">rejected an emergency effort\u003c/a> from the Trump administration to bypass Carter’s courtroom. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration sought an emergency order from the appellate court, claiming that Carter didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough. The two judges said prosecutors’ arguments about urgency didn’t hold up.\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration sought an emergency order from the appellate court, claiming that Carter didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough. The two judges said prosecutors’ arguments about urgency didn’t hold up.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Their ruling noted that the prosecutors have been making claims about illegal voters on California’s voter rolls since July and could have taken action any time since, so their “claimed emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, noted in a concurring opinion that he had “serious doubts” about the federal government’s claims that prosecutors could “superintend or intervene in a state’s election administration.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Their ruling noted that the prosecutors have been making claims about illegal voters on California’s voter rolls since July and could have taken action any time since, so their “claimed emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, noted in a concurring opinion that he had “serious doubts” about the federal government’s claims that prosecutors could “superintend or intervene in a state’s election administration.” \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>He wrote that Congress granted states — not the executive branch — authority over elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>In a dissenting opinion, Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, argued that “federal law precludes California from commingling ballots likely cast by aliens with legitimate ballots, because it encourages and induces illegal voting.”\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>He wrote that Congress granted states — not the executive branch — authority over elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>In a dissenting opinion, Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, argued that “federal law precludes California from commingling ballots likely cast by aliens with legitimate ballots, because it encourages and induces illegal voting.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Stopping that practice for those identified as likely noncitizens is the bare minimum,” Bumatay wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Stopping that practice for those identified as likely noncitizens is the bare minimum,” Bumatay wrote.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
"innerContent": [
"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "A federal judge is unlikely to issue a final ruling on the Trump administration’s claim that 20,000 possible noncitizens are registered to vote in California until after Election Day.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This story was originally published by \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/\">CalMatters\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/subscribe-to-calmatters/\">Sign up\u003c/a> for their newsletters.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Saying he had concerns it could disenfranchise voters during the midterm election, a federal judge on Tuesday seemed skeptical of the Trump administration’s demands that California election officials set aside 20,000 ballots that it claimed could have been \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">mailed to noncitizens\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Some of these may be very valid voters, and that’s my concern about disenfranchisement,” said U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, an appointee of President Bill Clinton.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter said he would issue a formal ruling by Wednesday, but he told the courtroom he was likely going to appoint a special master to weigh the evidence both sides present at a hearing in two weeks. That means his final ruling might not come until after the election.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he didn’t want to “just wing it with a ruling” based on last-minute evidence the federal government submitted to the court the night before Tuesday’s hearing.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter also suggested that his ruling would order federal authorities to stop telling election officials that they could face criminal charges if they didn’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands. The Trump administration on Friday \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106247/doj-orders-contra-costa-other-california-counties-to-verify-ballots\">sent letters to California election officials\u003c/a> telling them to set aside ballots from suspected noncitizens, and threatened them with criminal charges if they allowed those people to vote.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“This court believes it would be wise that any threats to state or county (election) employees cease immediately,” Carter told the courtroom.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter’s remarks point to yet another likely legal blow to the Trump administration as it seeks to validate President Donald Trump’s longstanding claims of widespread election fraud favoring Democrats. Experts and election officials say those claims are meritless. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, acknowledged that the government’s list of 20,000 people may contain citizens, but he said the possibility that noncitizens were voting illegally was too great a threat.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1980\" height=\"1320\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12085438\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381.jpg 1980w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GettyImages-2277856381-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1980px) 100vw, 1980px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Election workers sort ballots at Contra Costa County’s election operations facility on May 27, 2026, in Martinez, California. (Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I would ask the state how many illegal votes is OK for them?” Essayli said. “It cannot be that the state has a right to facilitate the counting and tabulation of noncitizen votes. There’s no right to that.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">sued California earlier this month\u003c/a> saying election officials refused to comply with a 48-hour federal deadline to set aside the ballots of up to 20,000 people the administration had flagged as possible noncitizens until the voters’ citizenship could be verified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The administration sought a temporary restraining order forcing the state to comply.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California officials argued there was no way they could since they were busy overseeing the election. They also called the demand an illegal effort to meddle in state-run elections that could disenfranchise legal voters.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“I just want to make sure the stakes are clear: that what we’re talking about is stripping voting rights from thousands of people until proven otherwise,” said Anne Bellows, a deputy attorney general with the California Department of Justice. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Judge points to immigrant arrests\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">State and county officials also have questioned the methodology the federal government used to flag possible noncitizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a court filing, Los Angeles County officials said that a sampling of 200 names from the federal list, which included people from all over California, found that many of them were likely citizens and that most had not voted before and were not sent ballots. Federal investigators re-reviewed those 200 names and found that only four were citizens, Essayli told the judge.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>“We stand by the reliability of the information,” he said. “We take our obligations and ethics very seriously.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carter noted that, last week, federal prosecutors charged \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/california-federal-arrests-voter-fraud/\">28 California green card holders\u003c/a> for allegedly voting or registering to vote in violation of laws prohibiting noncitizens from participating in elections. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said that if noncitizens really are voting in as large of numbers as the Trump administration claims, there’s nothing stopping federal prosecutors from finding them and charging them without the risk of blocking legal voters from having their ballots counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“If it’s this big, you’ve got a remedy for goodness sakes,” Carter told Essayli. “Go out and indict.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the hearing, Essayli said from the courthouse steps that the state could “resolve this today.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“They just seem disinterested in getting to the bottom of this,” Essayli said, noting that the number of ballots in question could tip smaller elections. “A lot of elections are decided by tens of votes or hundreds of votes.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9th Circuit ruled against Trump\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The hearing came a day after two judges on a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12106418/santa-clara-county-rejects-trump-administration-voter-probe\">rejected an emergency effort\u003c/a> from the Trump administration to bypass Carter’s courtroom. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration sought an emergency order from the appellate court, claiming that Carter didn’t schedule a hearing fast enough. The two judges said prosecutors’ arguments about urgency didn’t hold up.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their ruling noted that the prosecutors have been making claims about illegal voters on California’s voter rolls since July and could have taken action any time since, so their “claimed emergency, at least in part, is a self-constructed one.”\u003cbr>\u003cbr>Judge Mark Bennett, a Trump appointee, noted in a concurring opinion that he had “serious doubts” about the federal government’s claims that prosecutors could “superintend or intervene in a state’s election administration.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He wrote that Congress granted states — not the executive branch — authority over elections.\u003cbr>\u003cbr>In a dissenting opinion, Judge Patrick Bumatay, another Trump appointee, argued that “federal law precludes California from commingling ballots likely cast by aliens with legitimate ballots, because it encourages and induces illegal voting.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Stopping that practice for those identified as likely noncitizens is the bare minimum,” Bumatay wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>This article was \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/10/trump-noncitizen-voting-court/\">originally published on CalMatters\u003c/a> and was republished under the \u003ca href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/\">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives\u003c/a> license.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "doj-orders-contra-costa-other-california-counties-to-verify-ballots",
"title": "DOJ Orders Contra Costa, Other California Counties to Verify Ballots",
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"headTitle": "DOJ Orders Contra Costa, Other California Counties to Verify Ballots | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots sit in crates before being counted at the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2025, ahead of last year’s statewide special election. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014671\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots sit in crates before being counted at the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2025, ahead of last year’s statewide special election.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n"
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"excerpt": "Election officials across California, including in Contra Costa County, received letters demanding officials verify ballots that may belong to noncitizens. ",
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"title": "DOJ Orders Contra Costa, Other California Counties to Verify Ballots | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal prosecutors sent letters to county registrars across California on Friday demanding that local officials set aside and verify ballots that the Department of Justice said \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12104425/california-officials-denounce-trump-dojs-demands-to-prove-voters-citizenship\">may belong to noncitizens\u003c/a>, according to the Los Angeles County registrar and a letter obtained by The Associated Press.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters are the latest escalation in a \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/doj-california-elections-e08ec04efdb1110c0e3f815f2ce6a3db\">legal battle\u003c/a> between California and President Donald Trump’s Department of Justice, which has recently focused on the state in its efforts to \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/homeland-security-justice-department-midterms-noncitizen-voting-09b8391612fc87676267a254c55eaee8\">root out noncitizen voting\u003c/a> ahead of the midterm elections. Data shows illegal voting by people who aren’t U.S. citizens is \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/noncitizens-voting-republicans-election-2024-immigration-09b86e6768f755fd875f3c51b0e8ea70\">incredibly rare\u003c/a>, difficult to prove and has not been shown to change the outcome of races.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, the federal government targeted \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-justice-department-voting-noncitizens-lawsuit-12c62cf12a7db6480c60975b6dea49b8\">Los Angeles County and the California Secretary of State’s office\u003c/a> in a lawsuit that aimed to block them from counting the votes of roughly 20,000 people who are “likely” noncitizen voters. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087182\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/251030-BayAreaVoters-25-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ballots sit in crates before being counted at the City Hall Voting Center in San Francisco on Oct. 30, 2025, ahead of last year’s statewide special election. (Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Trump administration asked the 9th Circuit court of appeals to rule on the lawsuit barring a decision from the district judge assigned to the case. They set a deadline for Saturday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, according to the LA County registrar’s office, at least 18 counties across the state have received similar letters. They have been given a 48 hour deadline from Friday to provide identifying information corresponding with ballots that the federal government believes were sent to noncitizens illegally registered to vote. The letter requests that county officials also sequester any ballots where citizenship cannot be verified.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Any election official who knowingly processes the ballot of a noncitizen is opening themselves to legal jeopardy,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">East Bay Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, whose district includes parts of Contra Costa County, said in a statement that Contra Costa election officials were among those that received a letter.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014671\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/MarkDeSaulnierGetty-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) speaks during a House Rules Committee hearing on the impeachment against President Donald Trump on Dec. 17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Patrick Semansky-Pool/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“I have confidence that local elections officials are conducting this election in accordance with all state and federal laws and working to protect the Constitutional rights guaranteed to American citizens, including ensuring that every eligible voter who wants to participate in the upcoming election has the opportunity to do so,” DeSaulnier said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Justice Department is asking counties to send information about the voters it suspects are noncitizens including social security numbers, ID information, a copy of their registration and more.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That information can help the government and state quickly assess each person suspected of illegally registering to vote, said the letter sent to San Bernardino County voting officials. The letter says the government’s list of suspected noncitizen voters includes 1,133 people from the inland Southern California county.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">California’s secretary of state and the Los Angeles County registrar have opposed the federal government’s demands. In legal filings, lawyers for California say the request threatens to delay the certification of the vote and undermine the legitimacy of the November midterms. They have also argued that the federal government’s data is unreliable and that their demands risk disenfranchisement of citizens.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Voting is underway in California, with the state’s more than 23 million registered voters receiving ballots in the mail earlier this month. The state said in legal filings that over 330,000 mail-in ballots have already been counted.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The letters came on the heels of \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/california-election-naturalization-voting-62ebeea82da863d93ee4e112e5b9f86e\">statewide sweep by federal authorities\u003c/a> earlier in the week, where 28 people from the list of 20,000 were charged with illegally registering to vote. Some were also charged with illegally voting and lying on naturalization paperwork. Those charges could lead to years in prison.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sen. Alex Padilla, ranking member of the U.S. Senate Rules and Administration Committee with oversight over federal elections, said in a statement that the Trump administration is “afraid and desperate” and attempting to interfere in the state’s elections.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">“Trump’s DOJ has not provided any evidence for their claims of massive voter fraud. They’ve admitted that the data they point to is inaccurate and unreliable,” Padilla said. “No matter how many lawsuits they file or how many election officials they threaten, they do not have the authority to interfere.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u003cem>KQED’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/skennedy\">Samantha Kennedy\u003c/a> contributed to this report. \u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "households-will-pay-more-for-energy-due-to-federal-policy-changes-think-tank-says",
"title": "Households Will Pay More for Energy Due to Federal Policy Changes, Think Tank Says",
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"headTitle": "Households Will Pay More for Energy Due to Federal Policy Changes, Think Tank Says | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/trump-administration\">President Donald Trump\u003c/a> returned to office such as canceling new clean energy projects, according to modeling released Friday by a nonpartisan think tank.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An analysis from the California-based \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/economic-consumer-cost-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes-in-48-u-s-states/\">Energy Innovation\u003c/a> found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040. In five states, households will pay roughly $9,000 more: Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The think tank said there will be more demand for natural gas for electricity because the administration is canceling new \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-grants-chris-wright-09d26d615869ce06dd6bb2c047f636cb\">wind, solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a> and there will be more gasoline demand for transportation because \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-gas-mileage-electric-vehicles-pollution-403742074c3f3140aaa1d10829daf35f\">Trump and Congress are revoking policies\u003c/a> that incentivized efficient and lower-emissions vehicles. Higher demand increases prices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014668\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks about American energy production during a visit to the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig on July 29, 2020, in Midland, Texas. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Energy prices are elevated in many countries. The International Energy Agency said after Russia invaded Ukraine, record prices were observed between 2022 and 2024 in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. In many countries, the rise has outpaced income growth and inflation since 2019, including the European Union and the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some areas of the U.S., \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/electricity-prices-data-centers-artificial-intelligence-fbf213a915fb574a4f3e5baaa7041c3a\">demand from data centers\u003c/a> is being blamed. The Iran war has sent oil and gasoline prices sharply higher, too. The Energy Information Administration expects residential U.S. customers to pay about 18.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2027, compared to 17.3 cents in 2025 and 18.2 cents in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The independent research firm Rhodium Group has also examined the issue, saying in April the U.S. has entered a new period of rising electricity prices. It cited increasing price volatility in natural gas, which is increasingly used to generate power; needed grid improvements; inflation; storm recovery and wildfire mitigation; and shifting policies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Absent significant policy action, electricity prices likely will continue their significant rise over the next five years, \u003ca href=\"https://rhg.com/research/us-electricity-prices-drivers/\">the firm said\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Wednesday that lowering electricity prices remains a top priority and Trump is unleashing reliable energy like coal and natural gas to reverse the damage Democrats did to the grid by increasing clean energy. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-releases-report-evaluating-us-grid-reliability-and-security\">2025 Department of Energy report\u003c/a>, mandated by Trump, warned of increasing blackouts if the U.S. continued closing coal and natural gas plants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Joe Biden created a grid crisis; President Trump is fixing it,” Rogers wrote in an email. “If the Democrats had their way, these costly and unreliable renewable energy projects would still be failing our grid and our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Republican president prioritizes \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-mining-power-plant-climate-electricity-0a7126d66de97b10f32eaa39b1af669f\">fossil fuels to produce electricity\u003c/a>, unlike Biden, who saw clean energy as a climate solution. The conservative Institute for Energy Research said in December that \u003ca href=\"https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/blue-states-high-rates/\">blue states have high rates\u003c/a> because they have embraced aggressive renewable mandates, 100% carbon-free targets, premature coal and nuclear retirements and restrictions on natural gas infrastructure. It said high electricity prices are not an inevitability; they are a choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Analysis examined impact on states solely from federal policy changes\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It focused on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/elections-trump-republicans-big-bill-tax-cuts-4127f86db9aa557ae9316913aed7d80e\">the sweeping package of tax breaks\u003c/a> that slashed funding for clean energy tax credits, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump signed; \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/epa-power-plants-trump-coal-gas-climate-cac1c2c75f8656d8eaf5f0a240edae15\">environmental rollbacks\u003c/a>, including clean air and power plant rules and the revocation of a scientific finding that underpinned the U.S. fight against climate change; the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/live/trump-midterm-elections-xi-china-news-updates-09-28-2026\">loosening of fuel economy standards\u003c/a> and blocking of California’s novel rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035; and federal actions to stop wind, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-hydrogen-hub-newsom-0223cb4469508bcea4f689c18c9ab65d\">solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These changes will result in annual household energy costs rising in every state in the contiguous U.S., plus job losses in 47 of 48 states and losses to the gross domestic product in 46 states, Energy Innovation said. It’s projecting 37,000 additional premature deaths from air pollution, $72 billion in additional healthcare costs and more than 9 billion tons of additional carbon pollution because of the environmental rollbacks. The analysis did not include Alaska or Hawaii because key federal data is not available for those two states, said Robbie Orvis, senior director for modeling and analysis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1307\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg\" alt=\"Traffic on US-101 toward the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge on Friday afternoon, March 8, 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11750905\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-1200x817.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traffic on U.S. 101 toward downtown San Francisco on March 8, 2019. California banned the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but has been challenged by the federal government. (Lindsey Moore/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Across pretty much every state, things are worse. The outlook now is worse for states and the affordability crisis will be worse because of the combined set of policies,” Orvis said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Climate Justice Alliance legislative director Mar Zepeda said her Washington, D.C., electric bill increased $200 in the past month. Zepeda blames electricity demands from data centers, and said federal “affordability” policies only exacerbate this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They may call it affordability, but affordable for whom and at what cost? Not for regular people,” Zepeda said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">White House says the think tank is partisan\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rogers said it is “irresponsible” to classify Energy Innovation as nonpartisan because its employees have donated to Democrats and worked with Democrats on climate policy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Spokesman Silvio Marcacci said Energy Innovation works with policymakers who want to cut emissions and lower bills, regardless of party. He said multiple Republican-led states have used their tool designed to model policies affecting energy use and emissions. Much of their data comes from government sources, including the EIA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rogers also said states led by Democrats that have embraced aggressive renewable mandates see higher energy costs, notably California and New York. She said this proves Republican policies are working.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, in the Energy Innovation analysis, three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors. Its research has found that states with high levels of wind and solar generation, including Republican-led Iowa and Oklahoma, have experienced the lowest rate increases.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The average price residential customers pay for electricity increased during Biden’s term and has continued to rise under Trump, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_03\">according to EIA data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Oregon households’ annual energy spending slated to increase the most\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The modeling projects federal policy changes will increase \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/oregon-economic-consumer-cost-and-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes/\">annual energy spending in Oregon\u003c/a> by $840 per household in 2035 and $1,200 per household in 2040, with a cumulative $9,300 increase from 2026 to 2040 — the highest of any state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board advocates for residential utility customers. Executive Director Bob Jenks called those numbers “frightening” because Oregon already has an energy affordability problem. He cited steep rate increases as utilities make upgrades and data centers use more power.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As costs rise, Jenks expects utilities to disconnect more customers who can’t afford their bills.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jenks said wind and solar are essential for affordable electricity, and he wants the federal government to partner with states to develop the energy they need.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to optimize among the resource options we have, and they’re trying to take things away and raise the costs,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/trump-administration\">President Donald Trump\u003c/a> returned to office such as canceling new clean energy projects, according to modeling released Friday by a nonpartisan think tank.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>An analysis from the California-based \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/economic-consumer-cost-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes-in-48-u-s-states/\">Energy Innovation\u003c/a> found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040. In five states, households will pay roughly $9,000 more: Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>An analysis from the California-based \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/economic-consumer-cost-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes-in-48-u-s-states/\">Energy Innovation\u003c/a> found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040. In five states, households will pay roughly $9,000 more: Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The think tank said there will be more demand for natural gas for electricity because the administration is canceling new \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-grants-chris-wright-09d26d615869ce06dd6bb2c047f636cb\">wind, solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a> and there will be more gasoline demand for transportation because \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-gas-mileage-electric-vehicles-pollution-403742074c3f3140aaa1d10829daf35f\">Trump and Congress are revoking policies\u003c/a> that incentivized efficient and lower-emissions vehicles. Higher demand increases prices.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The think tank said there will be more demand for natural gas for electricity because the administration is canceling new \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-grants-chris-wright-09d26d615869ce06dd6bb2c047f636cb\">wind, solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a> and there will be more gasoline demand for transportation because \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-gas-mileage-electric-vehicles-pollution-403742074c3f3140aaa1d10829daf35f\">Trump and Congress are revoking policies\u003c/a> that incentivized efficient and lower-emissions vehicles. Higher demand increases prices.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014668\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks about American energy production during a visit to the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig on July 29, 2020, in Midland, Texas.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014668\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks about American energy production during a visit to the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig on July 29, 2020, in Midland, Texas.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Energy prices are elevated in many countries. The International Energy Agency said after Russia invaded Ukraine, record prices were observed between 2022 and 2024 in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. In many countries, the rise has outpaced income growth and inflation since 2019, including the European Union and the United States.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Energy prices are elevated in many countries. The International Energy Agency said after Russia invaded Ukraine, record prices were observed between 2022 and 2024 in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. In many countries, the rise has outpaced income growth and inflation since 2019, including the European Union and the United States.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In some areas of the U.S., \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/electricity-prices-data-centers-artificial-intelligence-fbf213a915fb574a4f3e5baaa7041c3a\">demand from data centers\u003c/a> is being blamed. The Iran war has sent oil and gasoline prices sharply higher, too. The Energy Information Administration expects residential U.S. customers to pay about 18.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2027, compared to 17.3 cents in 2025 and 18.2 cents in 2026.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In some areas of the U.S., \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/electricity-prices-data-centers-artificial-intelligence-fbf213a915fb574a4f3e5baaa7041c3a\">demand from data centers\u003c/a> is being blamed. The Iran war has sent oil and gasoline prices sharply higher, too. The Energy Information Administration expects residential U.S. customers to pay about 18.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2027, compared to 17.3 cents in 2025 and 18.2 cents in 2026.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The independent research firm Rhodium Group has also examined the issue, saying in April the U.S. has entered a new period of rising electricity prices. It cited increasing price volatility in natural gas, which is increasingly used to generate power; needed grid improvements; inflation; storm recovery and wildfire mitigation; and shifting policies.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The independent research firm Rhodium Group has also examined the issue, saying in April the U.S. has entered a new period of rising electricity prices. It cited increasing price volatility in natural gas, which is increasingly used to generate power; needed grid improvements; inflation; storm recovery and wildfire mitigation; and shifting policies.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Absent significant policy action, electricity prices likely will continue their significant rise over the next five years, \u003ca href=\"https://rhg.com/research/us-electricity-prices-drivers/\">the firm said\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Absent significant policy action, electricity prices likely will continue their significant rise over the next five years, \u003ca href=\"https://rhg.com/research/us-electricity-prices-drivers/\">the firm said\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Wednesday that lowering electricity prices remains a top priority and Trump is unleashing reliable energy like coal and natural gas to reverse the damage Democrats did to the grid by increasing clean energy. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-releases-report-evaluating-us-grid-reliability-and-security\">2025 Department of Energy report\u003c/a>, mandated by Trump, warned of increasing blackouts if the U.S. continued closing coal and natural gas plants.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Wednesday that lowering electricity prices remains a top priority and Trump is unleashing reliable energy like coal and natural gas to reverse the damage Democrats did to the grid by increasing clean energy. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-releases-report-evaluating-us-grid-reliability-and-security\">2025 Department of Energy report\u003c/a>, mandated by Trump, warned of increasing blackouts if the U.S. continued closing coal and natural gas plants.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Joe Biden created a grid crisis; President Trump is fixing it,” Rogers wrote in an email. “If the Democrats had their way, these costly and unreliable renewable energy projects would still be failing our grid and our communities.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Joe Biden created a grid crisis; President Trump is fixing it,” Rogers wrote in an email. “If the Democrats had their way, these costly and unreliable renewable energy projects would still be failing our grid and our communities.”\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Republican president prioritizes \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-mining-power-plant-climate-electricity-0a7126d66de97b10f32eaa39b1af669f\">fossil fuels to produce electricity\u003c/a>, unlike Biden, who saw clean energy as a climate solution. The conservative Institute for Energy Research said in December that \u003ca href=\"https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/blue-states-high-rates/\">blue states have high rates\u003c/a> because they have embraced aggressive renewable mandates, 100% carbon-free targets, premature coal and nuclear retirements and restrictions on natural gas infrastructure. It said high electricity prices are not an inevitability; they are a choice.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Republican president prioritizes \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-mining-power-plant-climate-electricity-0a7126d66de97b10f32eaa39b1af669f\">fossil fuels to produce electricity\u003c/a>, unlike Biden, who saw clean energy as a climate solution. The conservative Institute for Energy Research said in December that \u003ca href=\"https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/blue-states-high-rates/\">blue states have high rates\u003c/a> because they have embraced aggressive renewable mandates, 100% carbon-free targets, premature coal and nuclear retirements and restrictions on natural gas infrastructure. It said high electricity prices are not an inevitability; they are a choice.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Analysis examined impact on states solely from federal policy changes\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>It focused on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/elections-trump-republicans-big-bill-tax-cuts-4127f86db9aa557ae9316913aed7d80e\">the sweeping package of tax breaks\u003c/a> that slashed funding for clean energy tax credits, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump signed; \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/epa-power-plants-trump-coal-gas-climate-cac1c2c75f8656d8eaf5f0a240edae15\">environmental rollbacks\u003c/a>, including clean air and power plant rules and the revocation of a scientific finding that underpinned the U.S. fight against climate change; the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/live/trump-midterm-elections-xi-china-news-updates-09-28-2026\">loosening of fuel economy standards\u003c/a> and blocking of California’s novel rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035; and federal actions to stop wind, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-hydrogen-hub-newsom-0223cb4469508bcea4f689c18c9ab65d\">solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>It focused on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/elections-trump-republicans-big-bill-tax-cuts-4127f86db9aa557ae9316913aed7d80e\">the sweeping package of tax breaks\u003c/a> that slashed funding for clean energy tax credits, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump signed; \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/epa-power-plants-trump-coal-gas-climate-cac1c2c75f8656d8eaf5f0a240edae15\">environmental rollbacks\u003c/a>, including clean air and power plant rules and the revocation of a scientific finding that underpinned the U.S. fight against climate change; the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/live/trump-midterm-elections-xi-china-news-updates-09-28-2026\">loosening of fuel economy standards\u003c/a> and blocking of California’s novel rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035; and federal actions to stop wind, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-hydrogen-hub-newsom-0223cb4469508bcea4f689c18c9ab65d\">solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>These changes will result in annual household energy costs rising in every state in the contiguous U.S., plus job losses in 47 of 48 states and losses to the gross domestic product in 46 states, Energy Innovation said. It’s projecting 37,000 additional premature deaths from air pollution, $72 billion in additional healthcare costs and more than 9 billion tons of additional carbon pollution because of the environmental rollbacks. The analysis did not include Alaska or Hawaii because key federal data is not available for those two states, said Robbie Orvis, senior director for modeling and analysis.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>These changes will result in annual household energy costs rising in every state in the contiguous U.S., plus job losses in 47 of 48 states and losses to the gross domestic product in 46 states, Energy Innovation said. It’s projecting 37,000 additional premature deaths from air pollution, $72 billion in additional healthcare costs and more than 9 billion tons of additional carbon pollution because of the environmental rollbacks. The analysis did not include Alaska or Hawaii because key federal data is not available for those two states, said Robbie Orvis, senior director for modeling and analysis.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg\" alt=\"Traffic on US-101 toward the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge on Friday afternoon, March 8, 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11750905\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-1200x817.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traffic on U.S. 101 toward downtown San Francisco on March 8, 2019. California banned the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but has been challenged by the federal government.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lindsey Moore/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg\" alt=\"Traffic on US-101 toward the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge on Friday afternoon, March 8, 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11750905\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traffic on U.S. 101 toward downtown San Francisco on March 8, 2019. California banned the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but has been challenged by the federal government.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Lindsey Moore/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Across pretty much every state, things are worse. The outlook now is worse for states and the affordability crisis will be worse because of the combined set of policies,” Orvis said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“Across pretty much every state, things are worse. The outlook now is worse for states and the affordability crisis will be worse because of the combined set of policies,” Orvis said.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Climate Justice Alliance legislative director Mar Zepeda said her Washington, D.C., electric bill increased $200 in the past month. Zepeda blames electricity demands from data centers, and said federal “affordability” policies only exacerbate this.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Climate Justice Alliance legislative director Mar Zepeda said her Washington, D.C., electric bill increased $200 in the past month. Zepeda blames electricity demands from data centers, and said federal “affordability” policies only exacerbate this.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“They may call it affordability, but affordable for whom and at what cost? Not for regular people,” Zepeda said in an email.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“They may call it affordability, but affordable for whom and at what cost? Not for regular people,” Zepeda said in an email.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "White House says the think tank is partisan",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rogers said it is “irresponsible” to classify Energy Innovation as nonpartisan because its employees have donated to Democrats and worked with Democrats on climate policy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rogers said it is “irresponsible” to classify Energy Innovation as nonpartisan because its employees have donated to Democrats and worked with Democrats on climate policy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Spokesman Silvio Marcacci said Energy Innovation works with policymakers who want to cut emissions and lower bills, regardless of party. He said multiple Republican-led states have used their tool designed to model policies affecting energy use and emissions. Much of their data comes from government sources, including the EIA.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Spokesman Silvio Marcacci said Energy Innovation works with policymakers who want to cut emissions and lower bills, regardless of party. He said multiple Republican-led states have used their tool designed to model policies affecting energy use and emissions. Much of their data comes from government sources, including the EIA.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Rogers also said states led by Democrats that have embraced aggressive renewable mandates see higher energy costs, notably California and New York. She said this proves Republican policies are working.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Rogers also said states led by Democrats that have embraced aggressive renewable mandates see higher energy costs, notably California and New York. She said this proves Republican policies are working.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>However, in the Energy Innovation analysis, three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors. Its research has found that states with high levels of wind and solar generation, including Republican-led Iowa and Oklahoma, have experienced the lowest rate increases.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>However, in the Energy Innovation analysis, three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors. Its research has found that states with high levels of wind and solar generation, including Republican-led Iowa and Oklahoma, have experienced the lowest rate increases.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The average price residential customers pay for electricity increased during Biden’s term and has continued to rise under Trump, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_03\">according to EIA data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The average price residential customers pay for electricity increased during Biden’s term and has continued to rise under Trump, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_03\">according to EIA data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n"
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"text": "Oregon households’ annual energy spending slated to increase the most",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Oregon households’ annual energy spending slated to increase the most\u003c/h2>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The modeling projects federal policy changes will increase \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/oregon-economic-consumer-cost-and-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes/\">annual energy spending in Oregon\u003c/a> by $840 per household in 2035 and $1,200 per household in 2040, with a cumulative $9,300 increase from 2026 to 2040 — the highest of any state.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The modeling projects federal policy changes will increase \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/oregon-economic-consumer-cost-and-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes/\">annual energy spending in Oregon\u003c/a> by $840 per household in 2035 and $1,200 per household in 2040, with a cumulative $9,300 increase from 2026 to 2040 — the highest of any state.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board advocates for residential utility customers. Executive Director Bob Jenks called those numbers “frightening” because Oregon already has an energy affordability problem. He cited steep rate increases as utilities make upgrades and data centers use more power.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board advocates for residential utility customers. Executive Director Bob Jenks called those numbers “frightening” because Oregon already has an energy affordability problem. He cited steep rate increases as utilities make upgrades and data centers use more power.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>As costs rise, Jenks expects utilities to disconnect more customers who can’t afford their bills.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>As costs rise, Jenks expects utilities to disconnect more customers who can’t afford their bills.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Jenks said wind and solar are essential for affordable electricity, and he wants the federal government to partner with states to develop the energy they need.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Jenks said wind and solar are essential for affordable electricity, and he wants the federal government to partner with states to develop the energy they need.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to optimize among the resource options we have, and they’re trying to take things away and raise the costs,” he said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since President Donald Trump returned to office, such as canceling new clean energy projects. ",
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"title": "Households Will Pay More for Energy Due to Federal Policy Changes, Think Tank Says | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>Households in the contiguous United States will pay thousands of dollars more for energy through 2040 because of federal policy changes since \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/trump-administration\">President Donald Trump\u003c/a> returned to office such as canceling new clean energy projects, according to modeling released Friday by a nonpartisan think tank.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>An analysis from the California-based \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/economic-consumer-cost-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes-in-48-u-s-states/\">Energy Innovation\u003c/a> found that households will pay an average of $6,500 more for energy, cumulatively through 2040. In five states, households will pay roughly $9,000 more: Oregon, Mississippi, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The think tank said there will be more demand for natural gas for electricity because the administration is canceling new \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-grants-chris-wright-09d26d615869ce06dd6bb2c047f636cb\">wind, solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a> and there will be more gasoline demand for transportation because \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-gas-mileage-electric-vehicles-pollution-403742074c3f3140aaa1d10829daf35f\">Trump and Congress are revoking policies\u003c/a> that incentivized efficient and lower-emissions vehicles. Higher demand increases prices.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12014668\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/TrumpOilGasRegulationsAP-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks about American energy production during a visit to the Double Eagle Energy Oil Rig on July 29, 2020, in Midland, Texas. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Energy prices are elevated in many countries. The International Energy Agency said after Russia invaded Ukraine, record prices were observed between 2022 and 2024 in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan and Korea. In many countries, the rise has outpaced income growth and inflation since 2019, including the European Union and the United States.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In some areas of the U.S., \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/electricity-prices-data-centers-artificial-intelligence-fbf213a915fb574a4f3e5baaa7041c3a\">demand from data centers\u003c/a> is being blamed. The Iran war has sent oil and gasoline prices sharply higher, too. The Energy Information Administration expects residential U.S. customers to pay about 18.6 cents per kilowatt-hour in 2027, compared to 17.3 cents in 2025 and 18.2 cents in 2026.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The independent research firm Rhodium Group has also examined the issue, saying in April the U.S. has entered a new period of rising electricity prices. It cited increasing price volatility in natural gas, which is increasingly used to generate power; needed grid improvements; inflation; storm recovery and wildfire mitigation; and shifting policies.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Absent significant policy action, electricity prices likely will continue their significant rise over the next five years, \u003ca href=\"https://rhg.com/research/us-electricity-prices-drivers/\">the firm said\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said Wednesday that lowering electricity prices remains a top priority and Trump is unleashing reliable energy like coal and natural gas to reverse the damage Democrats did to the grid by increasing clean energy. A \u003ca href=\"https://www.energy.gov/articles/department-energy-releases-report-evaluating-us-grid-reliability-and-security\">2025 Department of Energy report\u003c/a>, mandated by Trump, warned of increasing blackouts if the U.S. continued closing coal and natural gas plants.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Joe Biden created a grid crisis; President Trump is fixing it,” Rogers wrote in an email. “If the Democrats had their way, these costly and unreliable renewable energy projects would still be failing our grid and our communities.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Republican president prioritizes \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-mining-power-plant-climate-electricity-0a7126d66de97b10f32eaa39b1af669f\">fossil fuels to produce electricity\u003c/a>, unlike Biden, who saw clean energy as a climate solution. The conservative Institute for Energy Research said in December that \u003ca href=\"https://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/the-grid/blue-states-high-rates/\">blue states have high rates\u003c/a> because they have embraced aggressive renewable mandates, 100% carbon-free targets, premature coal and nuclear retirements and restrictions on natural gas infrastructure. It said high electricity prices are not an inevitability; they are a choice.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Analysis examined impact on states solely from federal policy changes\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>It focused on \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/elections-trump-republicans-big-bill-tax-cuts-4127f86db9aa557ae9316913aed7d80e\">the sweeping package of tax breaks\u003c/a> that slashed funding for clean energy tax credits, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump signed; \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/epa-power-plants-trump-coal-gas-climate-cac1c2c75f8656d8eaf5f0a240edae15\">environmental rollbacks\u003c/a>, including clean air and power plant rules and the revocation of a scientific finding that underpinned the U.S. fight against climate change; the \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/live/trump-midterm-elections-xi-china-news-updates-09-28-2026\">loosening of fuel economy standards\u003c/a> and blocking of California’s novel rule banning the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035; and federal actions to stop wind, \u003ca href=\"https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-hydrogen-hub-newsom-0223cb4469508bcea4f689c18c9ab65d\">solar and hydrogen projects\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>These changes will result in annual household energy costs rising in every state in the contiguous U.S., plus job losses in 47 of 48 states and losses to the gross domestic product in 46 states, Energy Innovation said. It’s projecting 37,000 additional premature deaths from air pollution, $72 billion in additional healthcare costs and more than 9 billion tons of additional carbon pollution because of the environmental rollbacks. The analysis did not include Alaska or Hawaii because key federal data is not available for those two states, said Robbie Orvis, senior director for modeling and analysis.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1307\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg\" alt=\"Traffic on US-101 toward the downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge on Friday afternoon, March 8, 2019.\" class=\"wp-image-11750905\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-160x109.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-800x545.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-1020x694.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2019/05/05292019_traffic-gas-powered-cars-fuel-emission-standards-Trump-EPA-1200x817.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Traffic on U.S. 101 toward downtown San Francisco on March 8, 2019. California banned the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, but has been challenged by the federal government. (Lindsey Moore/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Across pretty much every state, things are worse. The outlook now is worse for states and the affordability crisis will be worse because of the combined set of policies,” Orvis said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Climate Justice Alliance legislative director Mar Zepeda said her Washington, D.C., electric bill increased $200 in the past month. Zepeda blames electricity demands from data centers, and said federal “affordability” policies only exacerbate this.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They may call it affordability, but affordable for whom and at what cost? Not for regular people,” Zepeda said in an email.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">White House says the think tank is partisan\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rogers said it is “irresponsible” to classify Energy Innovation as nonpartisan because its employees have donated to Democrats and worked with Democrats on climate policy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Spokesman Silvio Marcacci said Energy Innovation works with policymakers who want to cut emissions and lower bills, regardless of party. He said multiple Republican-led states have used their tool designed to model policies affecting energy use and emissions. Much of their data comes from government sources, including the EIA.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Rogers also said states led by Democrats that have embraced aggressive renewable mandates see higher energy costs, notably California and New York. She said this proves Republican policies are working.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>However, in the Energy Innovation analysis, three of the five states facing the highest costs have Republican governors. Its research has found that states with high levels of wind and solar generation, including Republican-led Iowa and Oklahoma, have experienced the lowest rate increases.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The average price residential customers pay for electricity increased during Biden’s term and has continued to rise under Trump, \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.php?t=table_5_03\">according to EIA data\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Oregon households’ annual energy spending slated to increase the most\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The modeling projects federal policy changes will increase \u003ca href=\"https://energyinnovation.org/report/oregon-economic-consumer-cost-and-pollution-impacts-of-federal-energy-policy-changes/\">annual energy spending in Oregon\u003c/a> by $840 per household in 2035 and $1,200 per household in 2040, with a cumulative $9,300 increase from 2026 to 2040 — the highest of any state.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board advocates for residential utility customers. Executive Director Bob Jenks called those numbers “frightening” because Oregon already has an energy affordability problem. He cited steep rate increases as utilities make upgrades and data centers use more power.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>As costs rise, Jenks expects utilities to disconnect more customers who can’t afford their bills.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Jenks said wind and solar are essential for affordable electricity, and he wants the federal government to partner with states to develop the energy they need.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“We’re trying to optimize among the resource options we have, and they’re trying to take things away and raise the costs,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "newsom-signs-coal-terminal-law-as-oakland-wins-key-court-fight",
"title": "Newsom Signs Coal Terminal Law as Oakland Wins Key Court Fight",
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"headTitle": "Newsom Signs Coal Terminal Law as Oakland Wins Key Court Fight | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>A controversial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101914067/trump-administration-shovels-75-million-into-controversial-oakland-coal-terminal\">proposed coal terminal\u003c/a> in West Oakland was dealt two major blows this week, presenting new obstacles for the Trump administration-backed project.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, a Kentucky federal court threw out a $1 billion lawsuit against Oakland from one of the developers behind the proposed export facility. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The company in that case, Insight Terminal Solutions, argued that the city interfered with its plans to build a facility that would process millions of tons of coal, leading to the company’s bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 40 into law, which requires that developers prepare an environmental impact report before building a large-volume bulk coal facility. The law applies to any such new facility in the state but its author, Oakland Assemblymember Mia Bonta, designed the bill to apply to the so-called West Gateway Terminal project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. Newsom signed AB 40 into law this week, which requires developers prepare an environmental impact report before building a large-volume bulk coal facility. (Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If approved, more than 13 million tons of coal per year would be shipped overseas from the facility and stored in the open, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">report\u003c/a> prepared for investors. After lawsuits from the city of Oakland bogged the project down for decades, the Trump administration announced a $75 million investment into the project in June. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project, which would be built on part of the former Oakland Army Base, is being pushed by developer Oakland Bulk Oversized Terminal, and formerly by Kentucky-based ITS, which was contracted to ship the coal out of the terminal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a years-long legal battle with the city, OBOT succeeded through appeals last year and is still moving forward with the project. But the court drama didn’t end there. In 2025, a Kentucky bankruptcy judge found that Oakland \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/us/oakland-coal-port-budget-bankruptcy.html#commentsContainer\">burdened\u003c/a> ITS, and could owe the company between $230 and $654 million. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kicked from Kentucky court \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a higher court, however, ITS’s case ran into challenges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton said he chose to abstain from the case because it likely belonged in a California court instead, and vacated the 2025 bankruptcy ruling. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ITS’s decision to file an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court in Kentucky, rather than to sue in the California courts, carries at least a whiff of forum shopping,” Beaton wrote. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty-1536x1003.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A train loaded with coal approaches the Levin-Richmond Terminal in Richmond, California, on July 23, 2015. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The City of Oakland maintained from the start that this case was improper and should be dismissed,” the Oakland city attorney’s office said in a statement. “The district court agreed, and we’re pleased with the result.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Had Oakland been forced to pay ITS, it also could have also pushed the city to bankruptcy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is wonderful news for Oakland, and I think it takes the sword off of their neck,” said Ben Eichenberg, a senior staff attorney for pollution watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper. “It’s my hope that what this means is that the city feels it can once again take a stand representing the majority of people in Oakland who do not want this terminal.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New roadblocks and concerns \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though the coal would not be burned in Oakland, residents and environmental justice advocates worry that coal dust from uncovered trains blowing through the city could \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11749299/asthma-rates-higher-in-californias-historically-redlined-communities-new-study-finds\">add to existing health burdens\u003c/a>. Parts of West and East Oakland already suffer from some of the highest asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalization \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/air-pollution-and-health-risks_oakland-060418-pdf.pdf?la=en\">rates\u003c/a> in the country due to pollution from highways and industrial operations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bonta’s Community First Coal Review Act specifically addresses West Oakland’s environmental justice concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“West Oakland residents are predominantly people of color, and the life expectancy for an African American child born and raised in West Oakland is at least 15 years fewer than for a white child born and raised in wealthier Oakland neighborhoods,” reads part of the legislation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Local advocates who have been opposing the development for years applauded the governor’s signing of AB 40. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This clears the way for a very comprehensive examination of the environmental impacts and requirements for mitigating all of those impacts,” Ted Franklin, an organizer with No Coal in Oakland said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/coal-trains-increase-air-pollution-san-francisco-bay-area\">study\u003c/a> by UC Davis researchers looked at trains carrying coal on the way to a terminal in Richmond and found that the transportation, handling and storage of coal all significantly increase community exposure to PM 2.5, or fine particulate matter. Exposure to fine particulate matter can \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4740125/\">cause\u003c/a> asthma and respiratory inflammation, jeopardize lung functions and even promote cancers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The adverse effects are borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable, including infants, children and the elderly, people of color, those with low incomes, and those with underlying health conditions,” the study’s authors wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Advocates have repeatedly raised those concerns despite assurances from developers that they would make a state-of-the-art facility to minimize health impacts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least some of the concerns were validated by the \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">recent\u003c/a> investor report, which contained a surprising revelation: that the coal would be stored in “open-air bunkers.” That appeared to contradict previous assurances from developers that they would store the coal in covered silos to minimize the spread of toxic dust. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In this incredibly windy area we live in, all that coal is gonna get blown all around and really impact the community,” Eichenberg said “And the developer had promised to have a state-of-the-art facility with everything covered. So we’re deeply disappointed that these kinds of impacts are being imposed on the community.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, a Kentucky federal court threw out a $1 billion lawsuit against Oakland from one of the developers behind the proposed export facility. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The company in that case, Insight Terminal Solutions, argued that the city interfered with its plans to build a facility that would process millions of tons of coal, leading to the company’s bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>That same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 40 into law, which requires that developers prepare an environmental impact report before building a large-volume bulk coal facility. The law applies to any such new facility in the state but its author, Oakland Assemblymember Mia Bonta, designed the bill to apply to the so-called West Gateway Terminal project. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. Newsom signed AB 40 into law this week, which requires developers prepare an environmental impact report before building a large-volume bulk coal facility.\u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>If approved, more than 13 million tons of coal per year would be shipped overseas from the facility and stored in the open, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">report\u003c/a> prepared for investors. After lawsuits from the city of Oakland bogged the project down for decades, the Trump administration announced a $75 million investment into the project in June. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>If approved, more than 13 million tons of coal per year would be shipped overseas from the facility and stored in the open, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">report\u003c/a> prepared for investors. After lawsuits from the city of Oakland bogged the project down for decades, the Trump administration announced a $75 million investment into the project in June. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>The project, which would be built on part of the former Oakland Army Base, is being pushed by developer Oakland Bulk Oversized Terminal, and formerly by Kentucky-based ITS, which was contracted to ship the coal out of the terminal. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>After a years-long legal battle with the city, OBOT succeeded through appeals last year and is still moving forward with the project. But the court drama didn’t end there. In 2025, a Kentucky bankruptcy judge found that Oakland \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/us/oakland-coal-port-budget-bankruptcy.html#commentsContainer\">burdened\u003c/a> ITS, and could owe the company between $230 and $654 million. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>After a years-long legal battle with the city, OBOT succeeded through appeals last year and is still moving forward with the project. But the court drama didn’t end there. In 2025, a Kentucky bankruptcy judge found that Oakland \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/us/oakland-coal-port-budget-bankruptcy.html#commentsContainer\">burdened\u003c/a> ITS, and could owe the company between $230 and $654 million. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a higher court, however, ITS’s case ran into challenges. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In his decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton said he chose to abstain from the case because it likely belonged in a California court instead, and vacated the 2025 bankruptcy ruling. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>In his decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton said he chose to abstain from the case because it likely belonged in a California court instead, and vacated the 2025 bankruptcy ruling. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“ITS’s decision to file an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court in Kentucky, rather than to sue in the California courts, carries at least a whiff of forum shopping,” Beaton wrote. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“ITS’s decision to file an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court in Kentucky, rather than to sue in the California courts, carries at least a whiff of forum shopping,” Beaton wrote. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty-1536x1003.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 992px) min(100vw, 1536px), (min-width: 768px) min(100vw, 1280px), min(100vw, 1020px)\"/>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A train loaded with coal approaches the Levin-Richmond Terminal in Richmond, California, on July 23, 2015. \u003ccite class=\"wp-inline-image-credit\"> (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The City of Oakland maintained from the start that this case was improper and should be dismissed,” the Oakland city attorney’s office said in a statement. “The district court agreed, and we’re pleased with the result.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Had Oakland been forced to pay ITS, it also could have also pushed the city to bankruptcy. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This is wonderful news for Oakland, and I think it takes the sword off of their neck,” said Ben Eichenberg, a senior staff attorney for pollution watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper. “It’s my hope that what this means is that the city feels it can once again take a stand representing the majority of people in Oakland who do not want this terminal.” \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Though the coal would not be burned in Oakland, residents and environmental justice advocates worry that coal dust from uncovered trains blowing through the city could \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11749299/asthma-rates-higher-in-californias-historically-redlined-communities-new-study-finds\">add to existing health burdens\u003c/a>. Parts of West and East Oakland already suffer from some of the highest asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalization \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/air-pollution-and-health-risks_oakland-060418-pdf.pdf?la=en\">rates\u003c/a> in the country due to pollution from highways and industrial operations.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>Though the coal would not be burned in Oakland, residents and environmental justice advocates worry that coal dust from uncovered trains blowing through the city could \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11749299/asthma-rates-higher-in-californias-historically-redlined-communities-new-study-finds\">add to existing health burdens\u003c/a>. Parts of West and East Oakland already suffer from some of the highest asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalization \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/air-pollution-and-health-risks_oakland-060418-pdf.pdf?la=en\">rates\u003c/a> in the country due to pollution from highways and industrial operations.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Bonta’s Community First Coal Review Act specifically addresses West Oakland’s environmental justice concerns. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“West Oakland residents are predominantly people of color, and the life expectancy for an African American child born and raised in West Oakland is at least 15 years fewer than for a white child born and raised in wealthier Oakland neighborhoods,” reads part of the legislation. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>“West Oakland residents are predominantly people of color, and the life expectancy for an African American child born and raised in West Oakland is at least 15 years fewer than for a white child born and raised in wealthier Oakland neighborhoods,” reads part of the legislation. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Local advocates who have been opposing the development for years applauded the governor’s signing of AB 40. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“This clears the way for a very comprehensive examination of the environmental impacts and requirements for mitigating all of those impacts,” Ted Franklin, an organizer with No Coal in Oakland said. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>A 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/coal-trains-increase-air-pollution-san-francisco-bay-area\">study\u003c/a> by UC Davis researchers looked at trains carrying coal on the way to a terminal in Richmond and found that the transportation, handling and storage of coal all significantly increase community exposure to PM 2.5, or fine particulate matter. Exposure to fine particulate matter can \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4740125/\">cause\u003c/a> asthma and respiratory inflammation, jeopardize lung functions and even promote cancers.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“The adverse effects are borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable, including infants, children and the elderly, people of color, those with low incomes, and those with underlying health conditions,” the study’s authors wrote.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Advocates have repeatedly raised those concerns despite assurances from developers that they would make a state-of-the-art facility to minimize health impacts.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>At least some of the concerns were validated by the \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">recent\u003c/a> investor report, which contained a surprising revelation: that the coal would be stored in “open-air bunkers.” That appeared to contradict previous assurances from developers that they would store the coal in covered silos to minimize the spread of toxic dust. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“In this incredibly windy area we live in, all that coal is gonna get blown all around and really impact the community,” Eichenberg said “And the developer had promised to have a state-of-the-art facility with everything covered. So we’re deeply disappointed that these kinds of impacts are being imposed on the community.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "The developer must now contend with environmental review red tape, as concerns grow over coal dust and health risks.",
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"title": "Newsom Signs Coal Terminal Law as Oakland Wins Key Court Fight | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>A controversial \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/forum/2010101914067/trump-administration-shovels-75-million-into-controversial-oakland-coal-terminal\">proposed coal terminal\u003c/a> in West Oakland was dealt two major blows this week, presenting new obstacles for the Trump administration-backed project.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>On Wednesday, a Kentucky federal court threw out a $1 billion lawsuit against Oakland from one of the developers behind the proposed export facility. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The company in that case, Insight Terminal Solutions, argued that the city interfered with its plans to build a facility that would process millions of tons of coal, leading to the company’s bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>That same day, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 40 into law, which requires that developers prepare an environmental impact report before building a large-volume bulk coal facility. The law applies to any such new facility in the state but its author, Oakland Assemblymember Mia Bonta, designed the bill to apply to the so-called West Gateway Terminal project. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12084670\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/05/GavinNewsomAP-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks about his state budget proposal on Thursday, May 14, 2026, in Sacramento, California. Newsom signed AB 40 into law this week, which requires developers prepare an environmental impact report before building a large-volume bulk coal facility. (Jeff Chiu/AP)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>If approved, more than 13 million tons of coal per year would be shipped overseas from the facility and stored in the open, according to a recent \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">report\u003c/a> prepared for investors. After lawsuits from the city of Oakland bogged the project down for decades, the Trump administration announced a $75 million investment into the project in June. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The project, which would be built on part of the former Oakland Army Base, is being pushed by developer Oakland Bulk Oversized Terminal, and formerly by Kentucky-based ITS, which was contracted to ship the coal out of the terminal. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After a years-long legal battle with the city, OBOT succeeded through appeals last year and is still moving forward with the project. But the court drama didn’t end there. In 2025, a Kentucky bankruptcy judge found that Oakland \u003ca href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/us/oakland-coal-port-budget-bankruptcy.html#commentsContainer\">burdened\u003c/a> ITS, and could owe the company between $230 and $654 million. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Kicked from Kentucky court \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a higher court, however, ITS’s case ran into challenges. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In his decision Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton said he chose to abstain from the case because it likely belonged in a California court instead, and vacated the 2025 bankruptcy ruling. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“ITS’s decision to file an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy court in Kentucky, rather than to sue in the California courts, carries at least a whiff of forum shopping,” Beaton wrote. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1306\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12087608\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty-160x104.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/06/CoalOaklandGetty-1536x1003.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A train loaded with coal approaches the Levin-Richmond Terminal in Richmond, California, on July 23, 2015. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The City of Oakland maintained from the start that this case was improper and should be dismissed,” the Oakland city attorney’s office said in a statement. “The district court agreed, and we’re pleased with the result.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Had Oakland been forced to pay ITS, it also could have also pushed the city to bankruptcy. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This is wonderful news for Oakland, and I think it takes the sword off of their neck,” said Ben Eichenberg, a senior staff attorney for pollution watchdog group San Francisco Baykeeper. “It’s my hope that what this means is that the city feels it can once again take a stand representing the majority of people in Oakland who do not want this terminal.” \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">New roadblocks and concerns \u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Though the coal would not be burned in Oakland, residents and environmental justice advocates worry that coal dust from uncovered trains blowing through the city could \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11749299/asthma-rates-higher-in-californias-historically-redlined-communities-new-study-finds\">add to existing health burdens\u003c/a>. Parts of West and East Oakland already suffer from some of the highest asthma-related emergency room visits and hospitalization \u003ca href=\"https://www.baaqmd.gov/~/media/files/ab617-community-health/air-pollution-and-health-risks_oakland-060418-pdf.pdf?la=en\">rates\u003c/a> in the country due to pollution from highways and industrial operations.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Bonta’s Community First Coal Review Act specifically addresses West Oakland’s environmental justice concerns. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“West Oakland residents are predominantly people of color, and the life expectancy for an African American child born and raised in West Oakland is at least 15 years fewer than for a white child born and raised in wealthier Oakland neighborhoods,” reads part of the legislation. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Local advocates who have been opposing the development for years applauded the governor’s signing of AB 40. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“This clears the way for a very comprehensive examination of the environmental impacts and requirements for mitigating all of those impacts,” Ted Franklin, an organizer with No Coal in Oakland said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>A 2023 \u003ca href=\"https://www.ucdavis.edu/climate/news/coal-trains-increase-air-pollution-san-francisco-bay-area\">study\u003c/a> by UC Davis researchers looked at trains carrying coal on the way to a terminal in Richmond and found that the transportation, handling and storage of coal all significantly increase community exposure to PM 2.5, or fine particulate matter. Exposure to fine particulate matter can \u003ca href=\"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4740125/\">cause\u003c/a> asthma and respiratory inflammation, jeopardize lung functions and even promote cancers.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“The adverse effects are borne disproportionately by the most vulnerable, including infants, children and the elderly, people of color, those with low incomes, and those with underlying health conditions,” the study’s authors wrote.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Advocates have repeatedly raised those concerns despite assurances from developers that they would make a state-of-the-art facility to minimize health impacts.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>At least some of the concerns were validated by the \u003ca href=\"https://ruic.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Port-Study-RUIC-Bulk-Commodity-Ocean-Terminals-Study.pdf\">recent\u003c/a> investor report, which contained a surprising revelation: that the coal would be stored in “open-air bunkers.” That appeared to contradict previous assurances from developers that they would store the coal in covered silos to minimize the spread of toxic dust. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“In this incredibly windy area we live in, all that coal is gonna get blown all around and really impact the community,” Eichenberg said “And the developer had promised to have a state-of-the-art facility with everything covered. So we’re deeply disappointed that these kinds of impacts are being imposed on the community.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sen-alex-padilla-makes-surprise-visit-to-sfos-ice-detention-center",
"title": "Sen. Alex Padilla Makes Surprise Visit to SFO’s ICE Detention Center",
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"headTitle": "Sen. Alex Padilla Makes Surprise Visit to SFO’s ICE Detention Center | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>After an unannounced visit to San Francisco International Airport’s de facto detention center on Thursday, California Sen. Alex Padilla said it was clear that the airport, like others across the country, has become part of the federal government’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">immigration\u003c/a> crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re being pulled into the mass detention and deportation campaign of the president,” Padilla said Friday. “This isn’t meant to be a long-term detention facility. And at times, it has been treated as one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla is at least the second member of Congress to visit SFO’s “in-transit lounge,” a 3,000 square-foot windowless room in the International Terminal where more than two dozen immigrants have been held for days at a time since the start of the year, according to a \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/sfo-immigration-detention-ice-22405344.php\">investigation\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Federal law permits members of Congress to conduct unannounced oversight visits of detention facilities. In January, Padilla toured California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070519/california-senators-visit-immigration-jail-ahead-of-looming-ice-funding-bill-deadline\">largest detention center\u003c/a> in California City, where he described “inhumane” conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Alex Padilla made an unannounced visit to the San Francisco International Airport immigration holding room on Oct. 1, 2026. The Trump administration has ramped up immigration arrests at airports in recent months, including at SFO. (Courtesy of Senator Alex Padilla's Office)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, hundreds of people across the U.S. have been arrested while traveling through airports. And, in recent months, media reports have revealed that more are being held in airports for longer than 72 hours, the maximum time U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy generally tries to hold individuals in custody.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Miami, SFO had the second-highest number of these detentions, which resulted in a transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “Certain travelers may require additional processing based on the circumstances of their case. The length and nature of that processing can vary depending on a number of factors, including necessary records, coordination with other government agencies and transportation or travel logistics.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla said that he learned it’s not uncommon for ICE to bring detained immigrants to SFO and “turn them over” to CBP. The agency then ensures that individuals are put onto departing flights out of the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Depending on the country, depending on the airline, those flights run every day, or maybe once or twice a week,” Padilla said. “So I think that plays into how long people are being detained there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla was granted access to SFO’s lounge after about 15 minutes, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He described the space, which is lined with couches, some lounge chairs and tables, and restrooms, as neither the best nor the worst conditions he’s seen in similar spaces. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Less than half a dozen” people were detained there Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t bursting at the seams, it wasn’t overcrowded as we’ve heard reports [of] in recent months, at least not yesterday,” he told KQED. “But because it’s not in a formal facility, you wonder if all the required supporting amenities are in place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Individuals held in the airport facility told the \u003cem>Chronicle \u003c/em>in September that they were not given changes of clothes, and slept on upright couches with the lights on. Some said they didn’t have access to dedicated medical care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla questioned whether people held at the airport had access to bathrooms and showers, or if they were able to call family members or their attorneys when necessary. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Part of what we need to do is to keep the spotlight on, so that the Department [of Homeland Security] and the agencies know Congress is watching and we’ll make sure they’re abiding by the law and policy,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The senator has been a prominent opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement expansion over the last 21 months. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla made headlines in June 2025 when he was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043957/california-sen-alex-padilla-forced-to-ground-handcuffed-by-agents-at-dhs-briefing\">pushed to the ground and handcuffed\u003c/a> by federal agents while trying to ask then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a Los Angeles press conference. He told reporters at the time that he had been unable to get a meeting with DHS officials amid the administration’s “increasingly extreme immigration actions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla pointed out that SFO’s “in-transit lounge” is operated by CBP, not ICE, which he said is primarily responsible for screening travelers for narcotics and contraband, as well as handling individuals who shouldn’t be admitted into the U.S. He said that last year, when some CBP officials were \u003ca href=\"https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/reported-hundreds-of-cbp-agents-to-be-redeployed-to-focus-on-interior-enforcement/\">reassigned\u003c/a> to support ICE’s enforcement efforts within the U.S., their capacity for those functions was decreased. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla said that Congress hasn’t been able to sufficiently investigate federal immigration efforts since the Trump administration took office, but in the upcoming midterm election, “if Democrats regain the majority, you better believe we’re going to be holding hearings to further expose and hold this administration accountable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bwatt\">\u003cem>Brian Watt\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Padilla is at least the second member of Congress to visit SFO’s “in-transit lounge,” a 3,000 square-foot windowless room in the International Terminal where more than two dozen immigrants have been held for days at a time since the start of the year, according to a \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/sfo-immigration-detention-ice-22405344.php\">investigation\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Federal law permits members of Congress to conduct unannounced oversight visits of detention facilities. In January, Padilla toured California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070519/california-senators-visit-immigration-jail-ahead-of-looming-ice-funding-bill-deadline\">largest detention center\u003c/a> in California City, where he described “inhumane” conditions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, hundreds of people across the U.S. have been arrested while traveling through airports. And, in recent months, media reports have revealed that more are being held in airports for longer than 72 hours, the maximum time U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy generally tries to hold individuals in custody.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “Certain travelers may require additional processing based on the circumstances of their case. The length and nature of that processing can vary depending on a number of factors, including necessary records, coordination with other government agencies and transportation or travel logistics.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Padilla said that he learned it’s not uncommon for ICE to bring detained immigrants to SFO and “turn them over” to CBP. The agency then ensures that individuals are put onto departing flights out of the country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Depending on the country, depending on the airline, those flights run every day, or maybe once or twice a week,” Padilla said. “So I think that plays into how long people are being detained there.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t bursting at the seams, it wasn’t overcrowded as we’ve heard reports [of] in recent months, at least not yesterday,” he told KQED. “But because it’s not in a formal facility, you wonder if all the required supporting amenities are in place.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Padilla questioned whether people held at the airport had access to bathrooms and showers, or if they were able to call family members or their attorneys when necessary. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>“Part of what we need to do is to keep the spotlight on, so that the Department [of Homeland Security] and the agencies know Congress is watching and we’ll make sure they’re abiding by the law and policy,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Padilla made headlines in June 2025 when he was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043957/california-sen-alex-padilla-forced-to-ground-handcuffed-by-agents-at-dhs-briefing\">pushed to the ground and handcuffed\u003c/a> by federal agents while trying to ask then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a Los Angeles press conference. He told reporters at the time that he had been unable to get a meeting with DHS officials amid the administration’s “increasingly extreme immigration actions.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Padilla pointed out that SFO’s “in-transit lounge” is operated by CBP, not ICE, which he said is primarily responsible for screening travelers for narcotics and contraband, as well as handling individuals who shouldn’t be admitted into the U.S. He said that last year, when some CBP officials were \u003ca href=\"https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/reported-hundreds-of-cbp-agents-to-be-redeployed-to-focus-on-interior-enforcement/\">reassigned\u003c/a> to support ICE’s enforcement efforts within the U.S., their capacity for those functions was decreased. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>Padilla said that Congress hasn’t been able to sufficiently investigate federal immigration efforts since the Trump administration took office, but in the upcoming midterm election, “if Democrats regain the majority, you better believe we’re going to be holding hearings to further expose and hold this administration accountable.”\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>After an unannounced visit to San Francisco International Airport’s de facto detention center on Thursday, California Sen. Alex Padilla said it was clear that the airport, like others across the country, has become part of the federal government’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/immigration\">immigration\u003c/a> crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“They’re being pulled into the mass detention and deportation campaign of the president,” Padilla said Friday. “This isn’t meant to be a long-term detention facility. And at times, it has been treated as one.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla is at least the second member of Congress to visit SFO’s “in-transit lounge,” a 3,000 square-foot windowless room in the International Terminal where more than two dozen immigrants have been held for days at a time since the start of the year, according to a \u003cem>San Francisco Chronicle\u003c/em> \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/sfo-immigration-detention-ice-22405344.php\">investigation\u003c/a> last month. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Federal law permits members of Congress to conduct unannounced oversight visits of detention facilities. In January, Padilla toured California’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12070519/california-senators-visit-immigration-jail-ahead-of-looming-ice-funding-bill-deadline\">largest detention center\u003c/a> in California City, where he described “inhumane” conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cfigure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-12102566\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2026/10/PadillaSFO-KQED_2-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" />\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sen. Alex Padilla made an unannounced visit to the San Francisco International Airport immigration holding room on Oct. 1, 2026. The Trump administration has ramped up immigration arrests at airports in recent months, including at SFO. (Courtesy of Senator Alex Padilla's Office)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, hundreds of people across the U.S. have been arrested while traveling through airports. And, in recent months, media reports have revealed that more are being held in airports for longer than 72 hours, the maximum time U.S. Customs and Border Protection policy generally tries to hold individuals in custody.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>After Miami, SFO had the second-highest number of these detentions, which resulted in a transfer to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to the \u003cem>Chronicle\u003c/em>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “Certain travelers may require additional processing based on the circumstances of their case. The length and nature of that processing can vary depending on a number of factors, including necessary records, coordination with other government agencies and transportation or travel logistics.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla said that he learned it’s not uncommon for ICE to bring detained immigrants to SFO and “turn them over” to CBP. The agency then ensures that individuals are put onto departing flights out of the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Depending on the country, depending on the airline, those flights run every day, or maybe once or twice a week,” Padilla said. “So I think that plays into how long people are being detained there.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla was granted access to SFO’s lounge after about 15 minutes, he said. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\u003cp>He described the space, which is lined with couches, some lounge chairs and tables, and restrooms, as neither the best nor the worst conditions he’s seen in similar spaces. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Less than half a dozen” people were detained there Thursday.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“It wasn’t bursting at the seams, it wasn’t overcrowded as we’ve heard reports [of] in recent months, at least not yesterday,” he told KQED. “But because it’s not in a formal facility, you wonder if all the required supporting amenities are in place.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Individuals held in the airport facility told the \u003cem>Chronicle \u003c/em>in September that they were not given changes of clothes, and slept on upright couches with the lights on. Some said they didn’t have access to dedicated medical care. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla questioned whether people held at the airport had access to bathrooms and showers, or if they were able to call family members or their attorneys when necessary. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>“Part of what we need to do is to keep the spotlight on, so that the Department [of Homeland Security] and the agencies know Congress is watching and we’ll make sure they’re abiding by the law and policy,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>The senator has been a prominent opponent of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement expansion over the last 21 months. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla made headlines in June 2025 when he was \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043957/california-sen-alex-padilla-forced-to-ground-handcuffed-by-agents-at-dhs-briefing\">pushed to the ground and handcuffed\u003c/a> by federal agents while trying to ask then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem a question during a Los Angeles press conference. He told reporters at the time that he had been unable to get a meeting with DHS officials amid the administration’s “increasingly extreme immigration actions.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla pointed out that SFO’s “in-transit lounge” is operated by CBP, not ICE, which he said is primarily responsible for screening travelers for narcotics and contraband, as well as handling individuals who shouldn’t be admitted into the U.S. He said that last year, when some CBP officials were \u003ca href=\"https://immpolicytracking.org/policies/reported-hundreds-of-cbp-agents-to-be-redeployed-to-focus-on-interior-enforcement/\">reassigned\u003c/a> to support ICE’s enforcement efforts within the U.S., their capacity for those functions was decreased. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>Padilla said that Congress hasn’t been able to sufficiently investigate federal immigration efforts since the Trump administration took office, but in the upcoming midterm election, “if Democrats regain the majority, you better believe we’re going to be holding hearings to further expose and hold this administration accountable.”\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>KQED’s \u003c/em>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/author/bwatt\">\u003cem>Brian Watt\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> contributed to this report.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "how-the-trump-administration-is-using-sfo-as-a-de-facto-detention-center",
"title": "How the Trump Administration Is Using SFO as a ‘De Facto Detention Center’",
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"headTitle": "How the Trump Administration Is Using SFO as a ‘De Facto Detention Center’ | KQED",
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"content": "\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has ramped up immigration arrests at airports in recent months, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/iryna-gorb-sfo-arrest-released-22436690.php\">including at San Francisco International Airport\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle, Customs and Border Protection has also been holding immigrants at SFO – in some cases, for more than a week. Reporter Sara DiNatale joins us to explain how the airport has become a de facto detention center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/sfo-immigration-detention-ice-22405344.php\">Under Trump, SFO is now a de facto immigration detention center (San Francisco Chronicle)\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Episode transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Earlier this summer, plain clothes immigration officers were seen at San Francisco International Airport, pinning down a woman as she cried for help. Concerned travelers hovered nearby, recording the incident.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>No, they’re fucking ICE! I’m from Ukraine!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The woman would be later identified as 38-year-old Iryna Gorb, a Ukrainian photographer and barista who’s been living and working in the U.S. for the last 16 years. Here’s her friend, Andy Eblin, speaking to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Eblin: \u003c/strong>There’s a reason that she’s got a lot of support, she is a good person that helped out a lot. That’s just kinda how she was.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Gorb was detained by ICE for seven weeks. And it’s not just people being arrested by ICE at airports. According to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle, SFO is also being used as a de facto detention center by Customs and Border Protection.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me like, yeah, a lot of people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, we talk with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale about how airports have become the new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>It’s not like this is happening constantly, but it is still happening more because it used to never happen. Historically ICE agents have not entered airports, domestic terminals, picking up people for visa overstays, especially people with visa overstay that have no criminal history. So we have seen this happen at our airport in San Francisco, it picked up over the summer and around that same time that we were noticing it locally, the New York Times tracked that it was happening regularly or at least semi-regularly at 15 major airports across the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And I mean, this is not something that we’ve seen before, like these kinds of immigration enforcement actions happening at airports. I mean is this part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to target immigrants at airports specifically?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So it’s not like the Trump administration or ICE has come out directly and said, like, this is our strategical avenue we’re taking, but the impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me, like, yeah, a lot people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport. The reason we think that is likely what’s happening is because we do know that there are current court orders that are preventing ICE from targeting court houses, which is the main enforcement efforts we saw last year. So the thought among immigration attorneys and other experts in immigration is that the shift to focusing on airports is a response to the fact that it is not as easy anymore to get people when they’re doing court hearings or check-ins with ICE because of these court orders. Trump has still made it clear that he has, you know, these large deportation goals. And so that is why people think airports have become a shift in that strategy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Can you kind of describe some of the kinds of immigration actions that are happening at airports like SFO?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, the videos we’ve seen all follow a very similar formula. You typically see plain, closed ICE agents. It’s not particularly obvious that they’re federal immigration enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>I need more! No!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They are coming to the airport with some kind of list or understanding of exactly who they’re targeting. TSA is likely sharing information. So they’re intersecting them either right when they’re getting off a flight or waiting to get on a flight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So we’re seeing these videos of people getting arrested at airports, but also your reporting has shown that people are actually being detained and held at San Francisco International Airport by Customs and Border Protection sometimes for days. Can you tell us a little bit more about what your reporting found?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, and there’s an important distinction here. Both practices are both part of Trump’s broader deportation crackdown, but the methods and framework that are being used are a little different. So when we’re talking about the people who are in domestic terminals that ICE agents are arresting in, those people are not the same people that we found being held in the airport. The people being held at the airport are flying internationally. Because when you’re flying internationally, you are essentially at the border asking for entry. And what we found and what our reporting found is that the people held at the airport are having this longer in-between step. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> So what exactly has changed? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Traditionally, if you had been flying internationally you have a work permit visa or a green card and something about your background check pops in the Customs and Border Protection system. If it wasn’t like an active warrant, typically they would say, hey, something weird popped up on your your background check, we need to set up a follow up appointment to go through this, you would get like a temporary release. So you’re allowed to leave the airport and you know, you have to come back and check with the customs officers. Sometimes you would be able to bring your immigration attorney. And they’re basically holding your green card or your work permit as collateral. So like people always came back for these appointments. It wasn’t like people were running off. But now the follow-up appointment, which is called deferred inspection, is essentially dead. And so instead of a follow-up appointment, they’re just holding them at the airport until they can decide what to do with them. And typically the end decision, which sometimes can take up to a week or more, is to transfer them to ICE detention with an order to go before an immigration judge to decide whether or not they’re admissible into the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>You’re saying some of these folks are being held at the airport for up to a week, potentially?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yes. So typically what happens because these are often really old arrests. And in a lot of cases, they are expunged from their state record. So they’re flying, not realizing that the federal system being used for the background check will still pull up a state expunges arrest. And then the agents are saying, Okay, well, we need to request your original court records. And until we have those court records to decide if you should be admitted or not. You just have to hold tight and the time that they’re waiting to get those records can span. If it is a Friday, the court is not going to send the certified records over the weekend. I’ve also had immigration attorneys tell me like, I have certified court records for the, like for this individual and I’m happy to bring them. And the agent said, no, we need them directly from either the arresting police agency or the court. Even if that was the case in the before times, it didn’t automatically mean you needed to be detained while you were awaiting that hearing. But now under Trump’s current executive orders, he’s made it very clear if there is a question about your admissibility and questions about your criminal history, you absolutely need to remain detained. They still have in there, it’s still linked on their website, you can read it, that people should not be held for more than 72 hours. And when we looked at the federal data which encompassed all the airports, we found that Customs and Border Protection has detained more than 400 people at international airports for longer than 72-hours since January and through July. And then of that 400 people, 146 were people who had valid green cards, so they were lawful permanent residents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And where exactly in the airport are they being held?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> It’s between A and G and like the part that connects both terminals that you like walk between. It’s all behind like the area you can’t get to unless like a customs agent is like walking with you. So this particular room is like kind of deep into the innards of the airport. There’s no windows. I have not been inside of it. They will not let me in. But it’s been described to me as just like a very, it looks like a basic like waiting room. Not somewhere you wanna sleep for days. There’s no beds. If you’ve ever been through customs and you get pulled for a secondary interview, you’re not allowed to have your phone. And that is the same with when you’re in being held in one of these rooms. You don’t have a phone or anything. So at SFO we know of 25 people who were held there for more than 72 hours from January through July and then 19 of those 25 people were transferred to ICE custody.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with The Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale right after this. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting our work by becoming a sustaining member of KQED. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> And like you said, this detainment area is really out of sight, and we haven’t known a lot about what is actually happening there, but you actually talked with a 67-year-old man who was held there. Tell me about him and his story?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>During this reporting process, I met a 67 year old man who was held at SFO for eight days starting in March. He agreed to talk to us without publishing his name because he doesn’t want any more attention to be put on his legal status. He is a green card holder. He has been a lawful permanent resident here for decades and he’s lived here legally for about 50 years. So he lives in Fresno. He was flying back from a trip to Mexico. And when he lands in Fresno, he is sitting on the plane and federal agents board and call his name. And they take him into custody right then and there. They cuffed his wrists and his feet, and they put him into a van, and they drove him to SFO. He was very confused about like what he was being arrested for on his way there actually in the van. He’s already starting to panic, especially because of his medical conditions. So he has diabetes and it was the end of his trip. So he didn’t have any more insulin on him because he was expecting to go home. Customs agents put him in this room. He is allowed one phone call to contact his son specifically just to ask for his medications. His son has to drive then from Fresno to SFO to deliver the medications. He also has no way to test his blood sugar. And it isn’t until a paramedic from the airport comes in to check him. That it becomes clear that he is having an episode. His blood sugar is way out of a normal range, he clearly needs insulin, and they do give him his insulin from his son finally, and he’s able to use it. He’s there for eight days. So through that eight days, he only had his blood sugar checked one time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How did he describe the conditions inside SFO while he was being detained?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>He described the whole experience as psychological torture. You know, he didn’t have a change of clothes. So they do take him to, they escort him to a shower every three days, but then he’s changing back into his dirty clothes after. You know he doesn’t have bed. So he’s described sleeping upright for the entire time. And you know, he was only snatching a couple hours of sleep in between, you know like it’s difficult to sleep upright. And in addition, the lights were always on. The diabetes wasn’t the only medical issue he had. He had some other medications he was required to take, and I didn’t even mention he’s also mostly blind. He doesn’t describe there being a formal medical screening, which is something you would expect and is required of any holding facility.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What do we know about why he was detained by Customs and Border Protection?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, so he wasn’t given a lot of clarity while it was happening to him. But he had an old 20 year old like run in with law enforcement that they essentially were looking into. I had one attorney I spoke with about just like this process describing it like a fishing expedition, like they are looking for something that they can argue makes you inadmissible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So he was held at SFO for eight days, you said Sara. Where is he now?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So, after his eight days, he was transferred to California City, which is the state’s largest detention center. Once he gets to California City, it takes a minute for him to be able to get connected with legal representation, but he eventually does. And they’re able to sort of untangle this old arrest and, you know, go before the court, make sure it’s clear that it’s a misdemeanor charge. And after five months, he does eventually get out. So he’s out, he has his green card still intact, and he’s just kind of recovering from this whole experience, which of course was very traumatic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, Sara, you’re describing, I mean in his words, psychological torture, people being held for days without really understanding why, not having access to legal representation. I mean is this legal? I mean can Customs and Border Protection just do this at airports here in the United States?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So when someone is coming, re-entering the country, court history and case law history, time and time again says the government has its peak authority at that moment, because it is a matter of national security. And that gives them a lot of latitude to do these things within a legal framework. That’s not to say that like everything they’re doing is legal and won’t face legal challenges. We have seen attorneys challenge these spaces and, you know, saying, hey, you need to at least make sure they meet, like, the minimum requirement for what makes a facility safe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And is Customs and Border Protection still keeping people in conditions like this within SFO?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So since the 67-year-old’s detainment, Customs and Border Protections has started using a different room to house people and that room has padded benches where people can actually lay down. So that’s an improvement, at least slightly in the conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And what does the airport say? Like, do they have any jurisdiction over how customs operate?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The airport itself has no control over what customs does with its space. So SFO cannot tell customs, hey, we don’t like this and you need to stop. Like because the airport is a border, customs has to have a space to operate and the airport has to provide that space. And once they hand over that space to them, they really can’t control what they do in it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And how has the Trump administration responded to this story?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They did not respond to a long list of questions I sent them. I asked customs directly like, hey, I see in your guidelines that you have the 72-hour hold policy. Is that no longer a policy? And that was one of the specific questions they did not answer. I reached out to Congressman Kevin Mullin. He wound up using his congressional authority to demand inspection of the facility. Congressman Mullin was able to ask them some direct questions during his visit. According to him, they told him like, yes, this is a distinct policy shift under Trump. We would have given these people follow-up appointments before and now we keep them here. You know, they said sometimes because of waiting on court records and weekends. Uh, sometimes people are here longer than three days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, it seems just like it’s safe to say that airports have sort of become this new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown, I’m curious what immigrant attorneys and advocates are advising people to do?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, I mean, there’s definitely the advice out there to just not travel, and I understand why people are heeding that advice. I would say if you are someone with a green card or another visa, you need to be really aware of exactly what your status is. So if you’re a green-card holder who has had a past brushing with law enforcement, you need to really sure that if you think your charges are vacated that they actually are before you travel internationally. And then for those who have visa overstays, the risk is that you will be targeted even if you don’t have any criminal history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, Sara, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. I appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much for having me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> That was Sara DiNatale, a politics reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. We’ll leave you a link to Sara’s reporting on this in our show notes. Thanks as well to KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti for some of the tape that you heard at the top of this episode. This episode was cut down and edited by producer Gabriela Glueck. It was produced and scored by me. Our senior editor is Alan Montecillo, music courtesy of AudioNetwork. If you wanna reach us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening to The Bay. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Earlier this summer, plain clothes immigration officers were seen at San Francisco International Airport, pinning down a woman as she cried for help. Concerned travelers hovered nearby, recording the incident.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Earlier this summer, plain clothes immigration officers were seen at San Francisco International Airport, pinning down a woman as she cried for help. Concerned travelers hovered nearby, recording the incident.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>No, they’re fucking ICE! I’m from Ukraine!\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>No, they’re fucking ICE! I’m from Ukraine!\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The woman would be later identified as 38-year-old Iryna Gorb, a Ukrainian photographer and barista who’s been living and working in the U.S. for the last 16 years. Here’s her friend, Andy Eblin, speaking to KQED.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The woman would be later identified as 38-year-old Iryna Gorb, a Ukrainian photographer and barista who’s been living and working in the U.S. for the last 16 years. Here’s her friend, Andy Eblin, speaking to KQED.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Eblin: \u003c/strong>There’s a reason that she’s got a lot of support, she is a good person that helped out a lot. That’s just kinda how she was.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Eblin: \u003c/strong>There’s a reason that she’s got a lot of support, she is a good person that helped out a lot. That’s just kinda how she was.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Gorb was detained by ICE for seven weeks. And it’s not just people being arrested by ICE at airports. According to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle, SFO is also being used as a de facto detention center by Customs and Border Protection.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Gorb was detained by ICE for seven weeks. And it’s not just people being arrested by ICE at airports. According to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle, SFO is also being used as a de facto detention center by Customs and Border Protection.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me like, yeah, a lot of people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me like, yeah, a lot of people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, we talk with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale about how airports have become the new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, we talk with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale about how airports have become the new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>It’s not like this is happening constantly, but it is still happening more because it used to never happen. Historically ICE agents have not entered airports, domestic terminals, picking up people for visa overstays, especially people with visa overstay that have no criminal history. So we have seen this happen at our airport in San Francisco, it picked up over the summer and around that same time that we were noticing it locally, the New York Times tracked that it was happening regularly or at least semi-regularly at 15 major airports across the country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>It’s not like this is happening constantly, but it is still happening more because it used to never happen. Historically ICE agents have not entered airports, domestic terminals, picking up people for visa overstays, especially people with visa overstay that have no criminal history. So we have seen this happen at our airport in San Francisco, it picked up over the summer and around that same time that we were noticing it locally, the New York Times tracked that it was happening regularly or at least semi-regularly at 15 major airports across the country.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And I mean, this is not something that we’ve seen before, like these kinds of immigration enforcement actions happening at airports. I mean is this part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to target immigrants at airports specifically?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And I mean, this is not something that we’ve seen before, like these kinds of immigration enforcement actions happening at airports. I mean is this part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to target immigrants at airports specifically?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So it’s not like the Trump administration or ICE has come out directly and said, like, this is our strategical avenue we’re taking, but the impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me, like, yeah, a lot people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport. The reason we think that is likely what’s happening is because we do know that there are current court orders that are preventing ICE from targeting court houses, which is the main enforcement efforts we saw last year. So the thought among immigration attorneys and other experts in immigration is that the shift to focusing on airports is a response to the fact that it is not as easy anymore to get people when they’re doing court hearings or check-ins with ICE because of these court orders. Trump has still made it clear that he has, you know, these large deportation goals. And so that is why people think airports have become a shift in that strategy.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So it’s not like the Trump administration or ICE has come out directly and said, like, this is our strategical avenue we’re taking, but the impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me, like, yeah, a lot people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport. The reason we think that is likely what’s happening is because we do know that there are current court orders that are preventing ICE from targeting court houses, which is the main enforcement efforts we saw last year. So the thought among immigration attorneys and other experts in immigration is that the shift to focusing on airports is a response to the fact that it is not as easy anymore to get people when they’re doing court hearings or check-ins with ICE because of these court orders. Trump has still made it clear that he has, you know, these large deportation goals. And so that is why people think airports have become a shift in that strategy.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Can you kind of describe some of the kinds of immigration actions that are happening at airports like SFO?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Can you kind of describe some of the kinds of immigration actions that are happening at airports like SFO?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, the videos we’ve seen all follow a very similar formula. You typically see plain, closed ICE agents. It’s not particularly obvious that they’re federal immigration enforcement.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>I need more! No!\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They are coming to the airport with some kind of list or understanding of exactly who they’re targeting. TSA is likely sharing information. So they’re intersecting them either right when they’re getting off a flight or waiting to get on a flight.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They are coming to the airport with some kind of list or understanding of exactly who they’re targeting. TSA is likely sharing information. So they’re intersecting them either right when they’re getting off a flight or waiting to get on a flight.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So we’re seeing these videos of people getting arrested at airports, but also your reporting has shown that people are actually being detained and held at San Francisco International Airport by Customs and Border Protection sometimes for days. Can you tell us a little bit more about what your reporting found?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So we’re seeing these videos of people getting arrested at airports, but also your reporting has shown that people are actually being detained and held at San Francisco International Airport by Customs and Border Protection sometimes for days. Can you tell us a little bit more about what your reporting found?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, and there’s an important distinction here. Both practices are both part of Trump’s broader deportation crackdown, but the methods and framework that are being used are a little different. So when we’re talking about the people who are in domestic terminals that ICE agents are arresting in, those people are not the same people that we found being held in the airport. The people being held at the airport are flying internationally. Because when you’re flying internationally, you are essentially at the border asking for entry. And what we found and what our reporting found is that the people held at the airport are having this longer in-between step. \u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, and there’s an important distinction here. Both practices are both part of Trump’s broader deportation crackdown, but the methods and framework that are being used are a little different. So when we’re talking about the people who are in domestic terminals that ICE agents are arresting in, those people are not the same people that we found being held in the airport. The people being held at the airport are flying internationally. Because when you’re flying internationally, you are essentially at the border asking for entry. And what we found and what our reporting found is that the people held at the airport are having this longer in-between step. \u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> So what exactly has changed? \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Traditionally, if you had been flying internationally you have a work permit visa or a green card and something about your background check pops in the Customs and Border Protection system. If it wasn’t like an active warrant, typically they would say, hey, something weird popped up on your your background check, we need to set up a follow up appointment to go through this, you would get like a temporary release. So you’re allowed to leave the airport and you know, you have to come back and check with the customs officers. Sometimes you would be able to bring your immigration attorney. And they’re basically holding your green card or your work permit as collateral. So like people always came back for these appointments. It wasn’t like people were running off. But now the follow-up appointment, which is called deferred inspection, is essentially dead. And so instead of a follow-up appointment, they’re just holding them at the airport until they can decide what to do with them. And typically the end decision, which sometimes can take up to a week or more, is to transfer them to ICE detention with an order to go before an immigration judge to decide whether or not they’re admissible into the country.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Traditionally, if you had been flying internationally you have a work permit visa or a green card and something about your background check pops in the Customs and Border Protection system. If it wasn’t like an active warrant, typically they would say, hey, something weird popped up on your your background check, we need to set up a follow up appointment to go through this, you would get like a temporary release. So you’re allowed to leave the airport and you know, you have to come back and check with the customs officers. Sometimes you would be able to bring your immigration attorney. And they’re basically holding your green card or your work permit as collateral. So like people always came back for these appointments. It wasn’t like people were running off. But now the follow-up appointment, which is called deferred inspection, is essentially dead. And so instead of a follow-up appointment, they’re just holding them at the airport until they can decide what to do with them. And typically the end decision, which sometimes can take up to a week or more, is to transfer them to ICE detention with an order to go before an immigration judge to decide whether or not they’re admissible into the country.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>You’re saying some of these folks are being held at the airport for up to a week, potentially?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>You’re saying some of these folks are being held at the airport for up to a week, potentially?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yes. So typically what happens because these are often really old arrests. And in a lot of cases, they are expunged from their state record. So they’re flying, not realizing that the federal system being used for the background check will still pull up a state expunges arrest. And then the agents are saying, Okay, well, we need to request your original court records. And until we have those court records to decide if you should be admitted or not. You just have to hold tight and the time that they’re waiting to get those records can span. If it is a Friday, the court is not going to send the certified records over the weekend. I’ve also had immigration attorneys tell me like, I have certified court records for the, like for this individual and I’m happy to bring them. And the agent said, no, we need them directly from either the arresting police agency or the court. Even if that was the case in the before times, it didn’t automatically mean you needed to be detained while you were awaiting that hearing. But now under Trump’s current executive orders, he’s made it very clear if there is a question about your admissibility and questions about your criminal history, you absolutely need to remain detained. They still have in there, it’s still linked on their website, you can read it, that people should not be held for more than 72 hours. And when we looked at the federal data which encompassed all the airports, we found that Customs and Border Protection has detained more than 400 people at international airports for longer than 72-hours since January and through July. And then of that 400 people, 146 were people who had valid green cards, so they were lawful permanent residents.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yes. So typically what happens because these are often really old arrests. And in a lot of cases, they are expunged from their state record. So they’re flying, not realizing that the federal system being used for the background check will still pull up a state expunges arrest. And then the agents are saying, Okay, well, we need to request your original court records. And until we have those court records to decide if you should be admitted or not. You just have to hold tight and the time that they’re waiting to get those records can span. If it is a Friday, the court is not going to send the certified records over the weekend. I’ve also had immigration attorneys tell me like, I have certified court records for the, like for this individual and I’m happy to bring them. And the agent said, no, we need them directly from either the arresting police agency or the court. Even if that was the case in the before times, it didn’t automatically mean you needed to be detained while you were awaiting that hearing. But now under Trump’s current executive orders, he’s made it very clear if there is a question about your admissibility and questions about your criminal history, you absolutely need to remain detained. They still have in there, it’s still linked on their website, you can read it, that people should not be held for more than 72 hours. And when we looked at the federal data which encompassed all the airports, we found that Customs and Border Protection has detained more than 400 people at international airports for longer than 72-hours since January and through July. And then of that 400 people, 146 were people who had valid green cards, so they were lawful permanent residents.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And where exactly in the airport are they being held?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And where exactly in the airport are they being held?\u003c/p>\n"
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> It’s between A and G and like the part that connects both terminals that you like walk between. It’s all behind like the area you can’t get to unless like a customs agent is like walking with you. So this particular room is like kind of deep into the innards of the airport. There’s no windows. I have not been inside of it. They will not let me in. But it’s been described to me as just like a very, it looks like a basic like waiting room. Not somewhere you wanna sleep for days. There’s no beds. If you’ve ever been through customs and you get pulled for a secondary interview, you’re not allowed to have your phone. And that is the same with when you’re in being held in one of these rooms. You don’t have a phone or anything. So at SFO we know of 25 people who were held there for more than 72 hours from January through July and then 19 of those 25 people were transferred to ICE custody.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with The Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale right after this. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting our work by becoming a sustaining member of KQED. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> And like you said, this detainment area is really out of sight, and we haven’t known a lot about what is actually happening there, but you actually talked with a 67-year-old man who was held there. Tell me about him and his story?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>During this reporting process, I met a 67 year old man who was held at SFO for eight days starting in March. He agreed to talk to us without publishing his name because he doesn’t want any more attention to be put on his legal status. He is a green card holder. He has been a lawful permanent resident here for decades and he’s lived here legally for about 50 years. So he lives in Fresno. He was flying back from a trip to Mexico. And when he lands in Fresno, he is sitting on the plane and federal agents board and call his name. And they take him into custody right then and there. They cuffed his wrists and his feet, and they put him into a van, and they drove him to SFO. He was very confused about like what he was being arrested for on his way there actually in the van. He’s already starting to panic, especially because of his medical conditions. So he has diabetes and it was the end of his trip. So he didn’t have any more insulin on him because he was expecting to go home. Customs agents put him in this room. He is allowed one phone call to contact his son specifically just to ask for his medications. His son has to drive then from Fresno to SFO to deliver the medications. He also has no way to test his blood sugar. And it isn’t until a paramedic from the airport comes in to check him. That it becomes clear that he is having an episode. His blood sugar is way out of a normal range, he clearly needs insulin, and they do give him his insulin from his son finally, and he’s able to use it. He’s there for eight days. So through that eight days, he only had his blood sugar checked one time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>During this reporting process, I met a 67 year old man who was held at SFO for eight days starting in March. He agreed to talk to us without publishing his name because he doesn’t want any more attention to be put on his legal status. He is a green card holder. He has been a lawful permanent resident here for decades and he’s lived here legally for about 50 years. So he lives in Fresno. He was flying back from a trip to Mexico. And when he lands in Fresno, he is sitting on the plane and federal agents board and call his name. And they take him into custody right then and there. They cuffed his wrists and his feet, and they put him into a van, and they drove him to SFO. He was very confused about like what he was being arrested for on his way there actually in the van. He’s already starting to panic, especially because of his medical conditions. So he has diabetes and it was the end of his trip. So he didn’t have any more insulin on him because he was expecting to go home. Customs agents put him in this room. He is allowed one phone call to contact his son specifically just to ask for his medications. His son has to drive then from Fresno to SFO to deliver the medications. He also has no way to test his blood sugar. And it isn’t until a paramedic from the airport comes in to check him. That it becomes clear that he is having an episode. His blood sugar is way out of a normal range, he clearly needs insulin, and they do give him his insulin from his son finally, and he’s able to use it. He’s there for eight days. So through that eight days, he only had his blood sugar checked one time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How did he describe the conditions inside SFO while he was being detained?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>He described the whole experience as psychological torture. You know, he didn’t have a change of clothes. So they do take him to, they escort him to a shower every three days, but then he’s changing back into his dirty clothes after. You know he doesn’t have bed. So he’s described sleeping upright for the entire time. And you know, he was only snatching a couple hours of sleep in between, you know like it’s difficult to sleep upright. And in addition, the lights were always on. The diabetes wasn’t the only medical issue he had. He had some other medications he was required to take, and I didn’t even mention he’s also mostly blind. He doesn’t describe there being a formal medical screening, which is something you would expect and is required of any holding facility.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>He described the whole experience as psychological torture. You know, he didn’t have a change of clothes. So they do take him to, they escort him to a shower every three days, but then he’s changing back into his dirty clothes after. You know he doesn’t have bed. So he’s described sleeping upright for the entire time. And you know, he was only snatching a couple hours of sleep in between, you know like it’s difficult to sleep upright. And in addition, the lights were always on. The diabetes wasn’t the only medical issue he had. He had some other medications he was required to take, and I didn’t even mention he’s also mostly blind. He doesn’t describe there being a formal medical screening, which is something you would expect and is required of any holding facility.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What do we know about why he was detained by Customs and Border Protection?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, so he wasn’t given a lot of clarity while it was happening to him. But he had an old 20 year old like run in with law enforcement that they essentially were looking into. I had one attorney I spoke with about just like this process describing it like a fishing expedition, like they are looking for something that they can argue makes you inadmissible.\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So he was held at SFO for eight days, you said Sara. Where is he now?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So, after his eight days, he was transferred to California City, which is the state’s largest detention center. Once he gets to California City, it takes a minute for him to be able to get connected with legal representation, but he eventually does. And they’re able to sort of untangle this old arrest and, you know, go before the court, make sure it’s clear that it’s a misdemeanor charge. And after five months, he does eventually get out. So he’s out, he has his green card still intact, and he’s just kind of recovering from this whole experience, which of course was very traumatic.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So, after his eight days, he was transferred to California City, which is the state’s largest detention center. Once he gets to California City, it takes a minute for him to be able to get connected with legal representation, but he eventually does. And they’re able to sort of untangle this old arrest and, you know, go before the court, make sure it’s clear that it’s a misdemeanor charge. And after five months, he does eventually get out. So he’s out, he has his green card still intact, and he’s just kind of recovering from this whole experience, which of course was very traumatic.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, Sara, you’re describing, I mean in his words, psychological torture, people being held for days without really understanding why, not having access to legal representation. I mean is this legal? I mean can Customs and Border Protection just do this at airports here in the United States?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, Sara, you’re describing, I mean in his words, psychological torture, people being held for days without really understanding why, not having access to legal representation. I mean is this legal? I mean can Customs and Border Protection just do this at airports here in the United States?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So when someone is coming, re-entering the country, court history and case law history, time and time again says the government has its peak authority at that moment, because it is a matter of national security. And that gives them a lot of latitude to do these things within a legal framework. That’s not to say that like everything they’re doing is legal and won’t face legal challenges. We have seen attorneys challenge these spaces and, you know, saying, hey, you need to at least make sure they meet, like, the minimum requirement for what makes a facility safe.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So when someone is coming, re-entering the country, court history and case law history, time and time again says the government has its peak authority at that moment, because it is a matter of national security. And that gives them a lot of latitude to do these things within a legal framework. That’s not to say that like everything they’re doing is legal and won’t face legal challenges. We have seen attorneys challenge these spaces and, you know, saying, hey, you need to at least make sure they meet, like, the minimum requirement for what makes a facility safe.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And is Customs and Border Protection still keeping people in conditions like this within SFO?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So since the 67-year-old’s detainment, Customs and Border Protections has started using a different room to house people and that room has padded benches where people can actually lay down. So that’s an improvement, at least slightly in the conditions.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So since the 67-year-old’s detainment, Customs and Border Protections has started using a different room to house people and that room has padded benches where people can actually lay down. So that’s an improvement, at least slightly in the conditions.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And what does the airport say? Like, do they have any jurisdiction over how customs operate?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The airport itself has no control over what customs does with its space. So SFO cannot tell customs, hey, we don’t like this and you need to stop. Like because the airport is a border, customs has to have a space to operate and the airport has to provide that space. And once they hand over that space to them, they really can’t control what they do in it.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The airport itself has no control over what customs does with its space. So SFO cannot tell customs, hey, we don’t like this and you need to stop. Like because the airport is a border, customs has to have a space to operate and the airport has to provide that space. And once they hand over that space to them, they really can’t control what they do in it.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And how has the Trump administration responded to this story?\u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They did not respond to a long list of questions I sent them. I asked customs directly like, hey, I see in your guidelines that you have the 72-hour hold policy. Is that no longer a policy? And that was one of the specific questions they did not answer. I reached out to Congressman Kevin Mullin. He wound up using his congressional authority to demand inspection of the facility. Congressman Mullin was able to ask them some direct questions during his visit. According to him, they told him like, yes, this is a distinct policy shift under Trump. We would have given these people follow-up appointments before and now we keep them here. You know, they said sometimes because of waiting on court records and weekends. Uh, sometimes people are here longer than three days.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They did not respond to a long list of questions I sent them. I asked customs directly like, hey, I see in your guidelines that you have the 72-hour hold policy. Is that no longer a policy? And that was one of the specific questions they did not answer. I reached out to Congressman Kevin Mullin. He wound up using his congressional authority to demand inspection of the facility. Congressman Mullin was able to ask them some direct questions during his visit. According to him, they told him like, yes, this is a distinct policy shift under Trump. We would have given these people follow-up appointments before and now we keep them here. You know, they said sometimes because of waiting on court records and weekends. Uh, sometimes people are here longer than three days.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, it seems just like it’s safe to say that airports have sort of become this new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown, I’m curious what immigrant attorneys and advocates are advising people to do?\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, it seems just like it’s safe to say that airports have sort of become this new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown, I’m curious what immigrant attorneys and advocates are advising people to do?\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, I mean, there’s definitely the advice out there to just not travel, and I understand why people are heeding that advice. I would say if you are someone with a green card or another visa, you need to be really aware of exactly what your status is. So if you’re a green-card holder who has had a past brushing with law enforcement, you need to really sure that if you think your charges are vacated that they actually are before you travel internationally. And then for those who have visa overstays, the risk is that you will be targeted even if you don’t have any criminal history.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, I mean, there’s definitely the advice out there to just not travel, and I understand why people are heeding that advice. I would say if you are someone with a green card or another visa, you need to be really aware of exactly what your status is. So if you’re a green-card holder who has had a past brushing with law enforcement, you need to really sure that if you think your charges are vacated that they actually are before you travel internationally. And then for those who have visa overstays, the risk is that you will be targeted even if you don’t have any criminal history.\u003c/p>\n"
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, Sara, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. I appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much for having me. \u003c/p>\n",
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"innerHTML": "\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> That was Sara DiNatale, a politics reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. We’ll leave you a link to Sara’s reporting on this in our show notes. Thanks as well to KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti for some of the tape that you heard at the top of this episode. This episode was cut down and edited by producer Gabriela Glueck. It was produced and scored by me. Our senior editor is Alan Montecillo, music courtesy of AudioNetwork. If you wanna reach us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening to The Bay. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n",
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"\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> That was Sara DiNatale, a politics reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. We’ll leave you a link to Sara’s reporting on this in our show notes. Thanks as well to KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti for some of the tape that you heard at the top of this episode. This episode was cut down and edited by producer Gabriela Glueck. It was produced and scored by me. Our senior editor is Alan Montecillo, music courtesy of AudioNetwork. If you wanna reach us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening to The Bay. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n"
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\n\u003cp>The Trump administration has ramped up immigration arrests at airports in recent months, \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/iryna-gorb-sfo-arrest-released-22436690.php\">including at San Francisco International Airport\u003c/a>. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>According to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle, Customs and Border Protection has also been holding immigrants at SFO – in some cases, for more than a week. Reporter Sara DiNatale joins us to explain how the airport has become a de facto detention center.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Links:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/sfo-immigration-detention-ice-22405344.php\">Under Trump, SFO is now a de facto immigration detention center (San Francisco Chronicle)\u003c/a>\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\n\n\n\u003ch2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u003cstrong>Episode transcript\u003c/strong>\u003c/h2>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>This transcript is computer-generated. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra and welcome to The Bay, local news to keep you rooted. Earlier this summer, plain clothes immigration officers were seen at San Francisco International Airport, pinning down a woman as she cried for help. Concerned travelers hovered nearby, recording the incident.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>No, they’re fucking ICE! I’m from Ukraine!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>The woman would be later identified as 38-year-old Iryna Gorb, a Ukrainian photographer and barista who’s been living and working in the U.S. for the last 16 years. Here’s her friend, Andy Eblin, speaking to KQED.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Andy Eblin: \u003c/strong>There’s a reason that she’s got a lot of support, she is a good person that helped out a lot. That’s just kinda how she was.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Gorb was detained by ICE for seven weeks. And it’s not just people being arrested by ICE at airports. According to reporting from the San Francisco Chronicle, SFO is also being used as a de facto detention center by Customs and Border Protection.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me like, yeah, a lot of people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Today, we talk with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale about how airports have become the new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>It’s not like this is happening constantly, but it is still happening more because it used to never happen. Historically ICE agents have not entered airports, domestic terminals, picking up people for visa overstays, especially people with visa overstay that have no criminal history. So we have seen this happen at our airport in San Francisco, it picked up over the summer and around that same time that we were noticing it locally, the New York Times tracked that it was happening regularly or at least semi-regularly at 15 major airports across the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And I mean, this is not something that we’ve seen before, like these kinds of immigration enforcement actions happening at airports. I mean is this part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to target immigrants at airports specifically?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So it’s not like the Trump administration or ICE has come out directly and said, like, this is our strategical avenue we’re taking, but the impression that a lot of immigration attorneys have and folks who have been in the detention centers recently have told me, like, yeah, a lot people I’m in here with are people who were picked up at the airport. The reason we think that is likely what’s happening is because we do know that there are current court orders that are preventing ICE from targeting court houses, which is the main enforcement efforts we saw last year. So the thought among immigration attorneys and other experts in immigration is that the shift to focusing on airports is a response to the fact that it is not as easy anymore to get people when they’re doing court hearings or check-ins with ICE because of these court orders. Trump has still made it clear that he has, you know, these large deportation goals. And so that is why people think airports have become a shift in that strategy.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Can you kind of describe some of the kinds of immigration actions that are happening at airports like SFO?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, the videos we’ve seen all follow a very similar formula. You typically see plain, closed ICE agents. It’s not particularly obvious that they’re federal immigration enforcement.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Iryna Gorb: \u003c/strong>I need more! No!\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They are coming to the airport with some kind of list or understanding of exactly who they’re targeting. TSA is likely sharing information. So they’re intersecting them either right when they’re getting off a flight or waiting to get on a flight.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So we’re seeing these videos of people getting arrested at airports, but also your reporting has shown that people are actually being detained and held at San Francisco International Airport by Customs and Border Protection sometimes for days. Can you tell us a little bit more about what your reporting found?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, and there’s an important distinction here. Both practices are both part of Trump’s broader deportation crackdown, but the methods and framework that are being used are a little different. So when we’re talking about the people who are in domestic terminals that ICE agents are arresting in, those people are not the same people that we found being held in the airport. The people being held at the airport are flying internationally. Because when you’re flying internationally, you are essentially at the border asking for entry. And what we found and what our reporting found is that the people held at the airport are having this longer in-between step. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> So what exactly has changed? \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Traditionally, if you had been flying internationally you have a work permit visa or a green card and something about your background check pops in the Customs and Border Protection system. If it wasn’t like an active warrant, typically they would say, hey, something weird popped up on your your background check, we need to set up a follow up appointment to go through this, you would get like a temporary release. So you’re allowed to leave the airport and you know, you have to come back and check with the customs officers. Sometimes you would be able to bring your immigration attorney. And they’re basically holding your green card or your work permit as collateral. So like people always came back for these appointments. It wasn’t like people were running off. But now the follow-up appointment, which is called deferred inspection, is essentially dead. And so instead of a follow-up appointment, they’re just holding them at the airport until they can decide what to do with them. And typically the end decision, which sometimes can take up to a week or more, is to transfer them to ICE detention with an order to go before an immigration judge to decide whether or not they’re admissible into the country.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>You’re saying some of these folks are being held at the airport for up to a week, potentially?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yes. So typically what happens because these are often really old arrests. And in a lot of cases, they are expunged from their state record. So they’re flying, not realizing that the federal system being used for the background check will still pull up a state expunges arrest. And then the agents are saying, Okay, well, we need to request your original court records. And until we have those court records to decide if you should be admitted or not. You just have to hold tight and the time that they’re waiting to get those records can span. If it is a Friday, the court is not going to send the certified records over the weekend. I’ve also had immigration attorneys tell me like, I have certified court records for the, like for this individual and I’m happy to bring them. And the agent said, no, we need them directly from either the arresting police agency or the court. Even if that was the case in the before times, it didn’t automatically mean you needed to be detained while you were awaiting that hearing. But now under Trump’s current executive orders, he’s made it very clear if there is a question about your admissibility and questions about your criminal history, you absolutely need to remain detained. They still have in there, it’s still linked on their website, you can read it, that people should not be held for more than 72 hours. And when we looked at the federal data which encompassed all the airports, we found that Customs and Border Protection has detained more than 400 people at international airports for longer than 72-hours since January and through July. And then of that 400 people, 146 were people who had valid green cards, so they were lawful permanent residents.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And where exactly in the airport are they being held?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> It’s between A and G and like the part that connects both terminals that you like walk between. It’s all behind like the area you can’t get to unless like a customs agent is like walking with you. So this particular room is like kind of deep into the innards of the airport. There’s no windows. I have not been inside of it. They will not let me in. But it’s been described to me as just like a very, it looks like a basic like waiting room. Not somewhere you wanna sleep for days. There’s no beds. If you’ve ever been through customs and you get pulled for a secondary interview, you’re not allowed to have your phone. And that is the same with when you’re in being held in one of these rooms. You don’t have a phone or anything. So at SFO we know of 25 people who were held there for more than 72 hours from January through July and then 19 of those 25 people were transferred to ICE custody.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>We’ll have more with The Chronicle’s Sara DiNatale right after this. By the way, if you appreciate the local deep dives that we bring you on the bay, consider supporting our work by becoming a sustaining member of KQED. We can’t do this work without you. Just go to donate.kqed.org/podcasts. We’ll be right back. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> And like you said, this detainment area is really out of sight, and we haven’t known a lot about what is actually happening there, but you actually talked with a 67-year-old man who was held there. Tell me about him and his story?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>During this reporting process, I met a 67 year old man who was held at SFO for eight days starting in March. He agreed to talk to us without publishing his name because he doesn’t want any more attention to be put on his legal status. He is a green card holder. He has been a lawful permanent resident here for decades and he’s lived here legally for about 50 years. So he lives in Fresno. He was flying back from a trip to Mexico. And when he lands in Fresno, he is sitting on the plane and federal agents board and call his name. And they take him into custody right then and there. They cuffed his wrists and his feet, and they put him into a van, and they drove him to SFO. He was very confused about like what he was being arrested for on his way there actually in the van. He’s already starting to panic, especially because of his medical conditions. So he has diabetes and it was the end of his trip. So he didn’t have any more insulin on him because he was expecting to go home. Customs agents put him in this room. He is allowed one phone call to contact his son specifically just to ask for his medications. His son has to drive then from Fresno to SFO to deliver the medications. He also has no way to test his blood sugar. And it isn’t until a paramedic from the airport comes in to check him. That it becomes clear that he is having an episode. His blood sugar is way out of a normal range, he clearly needs insulin, and they do give him his insulin from his son finally, and he’s able to use it. He’s there for eight days. So through that eight days, he only had his blood sugar checked one time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>How did he describe the conditions inside SFO while he was being detained?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>He described the whole experience as psychological torture. You know, he didn’t have a change of clothes. So they do take him to, they escort him to a shower every three days, but then he’s changing back into his dirty clothes after. You know he doesn’t have bed. So he’s described sleeping upright for the entire time. And you know, he was only snatching a couple hours of sleep in between, you know like it’s difficult to sleep upright. And in addition, the lights were always on. The diabetes wasn’t the only medical issue he had. He had some other medications he was required to take, and I didn’t even mention he’s also mostly blind. He doesn’t describe there being a formal medical screening, which is something you would expect and is required of any holding facility.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>What do we know about why he was detained by Customs and Border Protection?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, so he wasn’t given a lot of clarity while it was happening to him. But he had an old 20 year old like run in with law enforcement that they essentially were looking into. I had one attorney I spoke with about just like this process describing it like a fishing expedition, like they are looking for something that they can argue makes you inadmissible.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>So he was held at SFO for eight days, you said Sara. Where is he now?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So, after his eight days, he was transferred to California City, which is the state’s largest detention center. Once he gets to California City, it takes a minute for him to be able to get connected with legal representation, but he eventually does. And they’re able to sort of untangle this old arrest and, you know, go before the court, make sure it’s clear that it’s a misdemeanor charge. And after five months, he does eventually get out. So he’s out, he has his green card still intact, and he’s just kind of recovering from this whole experience, which of course was very traumatic.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, Sara, you’re describing, I mean in his words, psychological torture, people being held for days without really understanding why, not having access to legal representation. I mean is this legal? I mean can Customs and Border Protection just do this at airports here in the United States?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So when someone is coming, re-entering the country, court history and case law history, time and time again says the government has its peak authority at that moment, because it is a matter of national security. And that gives them a lot of latitude to do these things within a legal framework. That’s not to say that like everything they’re doing is legal and won’t face legal challenges. We have seen attorneys challenge these spaces and, you know, saying, hey, you need to at least make sure they meet, like, the minimum requirement for what makes a facility safe.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And is Customs and Border Protection still keeping people in conditions like this within SFO?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>So since the 67-year-old’s detainment, Customs and Border Protections has started using a different room to house people and that room has padded benches where people can actually lay down. So that’s an improvement, at least slightly in the conditions.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And what does the airport say? Like, do they have any jurisdiction over how customs operate?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>The airport itself has no control over what customs does with its space. So SFO cannot tell customs, hey, we don’t like this and you need to stop. Like because the airport is a border, customs has to have a space to operate and the airport has to provide that space. And once they hand over that space to them, they really can’t control what they do in it.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>And how has the Trump administration responded to this story?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>They did not respond to a long list of questions I sent them. I asked customs directly like, hey, I see in your guidelines that you have the 72-hour hold policy. Is that no longer a policy? And that was one of the specific questions they did not answer. I reached out to Congressman Kevin Mullin. He wound up using his congressional authority to demand inspection of the facility. Congressman Mullin was able to ask them some direct questions during his visit. According to him, they told him like, yes, this is a distinct policy shift under Trump. We would have given these people follow-up appointments before and now we keep them here. You know, they said sometimes because of waiting on court records and weekends. Uh, sometimes people are here longer than three days.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>I mean, it seems just like it’s safe to say that airports have sort of become this new frontier in Trump’s immigration crackdown, I’m curious what immigrant attorneys and advocates are advising people to do?\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale: \u003c/strong>Yeah, I mean, there’s definitely the advice out there to just not travel, and I understand why people are heeding that advice. I would say if you are someone with a green card or another visa, you need to be really aware of exactly what your status is. So if you’re a green-card holder who has had a past brushing with law enforcement, you need to really sure that if you think your charges are vacated that they actually are before you travel internationally. And then for those who have visa overstays, the risk is that you will be targeted even if you don’t have any criminal history.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra: \u003c/strong>Well, Sara, thank you so much for sharing your reporting with us. I appreciate it. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Sara DiNatale:\u003c/strong> Thank you so much for having me. \u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Ericka Cruz Guevarra:\u003c/strong> That was Sara DiNatale, a politics reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. We’ll leave you a link to Sara’s reporting on this in our show notes. Thanks as well to KQED’s Katie DeBenedetti for some of the tape that you heard at the top of this episode. This episode was cut down and edited by producer Gabriela Glueck. It was produced and scored by me. Our senior editor is Alan Montecillo, music courtesy of AudioNetwork. If you wanna reach us here at The Bay, feel free to send us an email. We’re at thebayatkqed.org. Support for The Bay is provided in part by the Osher Production Fund. Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco, Northern California Local. And I’m Ericka Cruz Guevarra. Thanks so much for listening to The Bay. Talk to you next time.\u003c/p>\n\n\n\n\u003cp>\u003cem>Some members of the KQED podcast team are represented by The Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, San Francisco-Northern California Local.\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
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"order": 10
},
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},
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"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
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"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
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"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"order": 1
},
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"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"meta": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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"id": "freakonomics-radio",
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"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
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},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
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"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
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},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
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"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
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"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
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"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
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"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/On-Our-Watch-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "On Our Watch from NPR and KQED",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 11
},
"link": "/podcasts/onourwatch",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5ucHIub3JnLzUxMDM2MC9wb2RjYXN0LnhtbD9zYz1nb29nbGVwb2RjYXN0cw",
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}
},
"on-the-media": {
"id": "on-the-media",
"title": "On The Media",
"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm-3pm, MON 12am-1am",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/onTheMedia.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.wnycstudios.org/shows/otm",
"meta": {
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"source": "wnyc"
},
"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/on-the-media/id73330715?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/On-the-Media-p69/",
"rss": "http://feeds.wnyc.org/onthemedia"
}
},
"pbs-newshour": {
"id": "pbs-newshour",
"title": "PBS NewsHour",
"info": "Analysis, background reports and updates from the PBS NewsHour putting today's news in context.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3pm-4pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/PBS-News-Hour-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/",
"meta": {
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"source": "pbs"
},
"link": "/radio/program/pbs-newshour",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pbs-newshour-full-show/id394432287?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/PBS-NewsHour---Full-Show-p425698/",
"rss": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/feeds/rss/podcasts/show"
}
},
"perspectives": {
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