ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes
Documents show the agency considered undercover agents and reviewed data from the Justice Department and USCIS.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
ICE agents and immigration activists face off outside Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey
Photograph: Common Dreams (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) collected 50.6 million voter roll records from the US Department of Justice and 26,235 records from US Citizenship and Immigration Services.
- ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) branch considered deploying undercover agents to investigate nonprofit organizations suspected of illegally registering noncitizens.
- A review by HSI of more than 40 nonprofits in New Jersey found no derogatory information.
- Certain state voter roll data may have been entered into Palantir’s ELITE app, used by ICE to identify targets for deportation.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 15 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 1 of the 16 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
50/100
Craft
58/100
Hype
41/100
16 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 15 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has amassed millions of voter records as part of an initiative to investigate potential election fraud. The agency's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) branch obtained 50.6 million voter roll records from the US Department of Justice and 26,235 records derived from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). ICE identified priority states for these records, including Texas, Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio.
HSI also explored the possibility of using undercover agents to investigate nonprofit organizations accused of illegally registering noncitizens to vote. However, HSI's review of more than 40 such organizations in New Jersey uncovered no derogatory information. Reports indicate that state voter roll data may have been incorporated into Palantir’s ELITE application, which ICE uses to identify individuals for deportation.
Disagreement on the number of organizations investigated
Common Dreams reported that HSI reviewed more than 40 nonprofits in New Jersey. Political Wire, citing The New York Times, stated that homeland security officials investigated more than 150 organizations nationwide.
What the coverage left out
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned that ICE's review of more than 40 nonprofits in New Jersey uncovered no derogatory information. The right-rated outlets did not run this story at all.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 4 times, most recently on 7 Oct 2026, 17:15, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
6 rated outlets
- Left-rated reports led on the scale of the data gathered by ICE and the potential implications for elections. Common Dreams highlighted that ICE had gathered 50.6 million voter records ahead of the midterm elections, framing it as an effort to combat "voter fraud." The outlet quoted Democracy Forward president Skye Perryman, who said the information "should concern all Americans" and was "further evidence of an alarming attempt by the executive branch to undermine our elections." Raw Story described the records as exposing a "national initiative" involving tens of millions of Americans' voter records. The New Republic stated that ICE "secretly investigated hundreds of nonprofits across the country," targeting "voting rights groups in swing states, and beyond." CNN reported that the Department of Homeland Security's "sweeping election-fraud operation" had drawn on tens of millions of records and scrutinized dozens of nonprofit voter-registration groups. Latin Times and The Washington Post focused on ICE questioning immigrant detainees about illegal voting.
Centre
9 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports focused on the details of ICE's investigation into voter registration and the data collected. KIFI, KRDO, KVIA, KEYT, KMIZ, KESQ, and kioncentralcoast.com, all citing CNN, reported that ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records to look for noncitizen voters and considered deploying undercover agents. Newsweek noted that ICE considered sending undercover agents to investigate groups suspected of recruiting noncitizens to register to vote. Political Wire reported that the Trump administration was ramping up investigations into voter registration, citing The New York Times' mention of officials investigating more than 150 organizations.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes?
- Of the 15 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 40% are rated left, 60% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 16. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 15 rated outlets on this story, 40% are rated left, 60% are rated centre, 0% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes biased?
- ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes is one event reported by 16 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered ICE gathered millions of voter records for election fraud probes?
- 16 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many voter records did ICE gather?
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement gathered 50.6 million voter roll records from the US Department of Justice and 26,235 records from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. These records were part of an initiative to investigate potential election fraud.
- Did ICE investigate nonprofit organizations?
- Yes, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations branch considered sending undercover agents to investigate nonprofit organizations accused of illegally registering noncitizens to vote. However, a review of more than 40 such groups in New Jersey found no derogatory information.
- Which states were priority targets for ICE's data collection?
- ICE listed priority states for its collected voter records, including Texas, Pennsylvania, California, New Jersey, Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Ohio. This data was part of an effort to investigate potential election fraud.
Read it at the source
16 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
6- Internal docs expose ICE's 'national initiative' involving tens of millions of voters (opens Raw Story in a new tab)
- 'Should Concern All Americans': Records Show ICE Has Gathered 50 Million Voter Records Ahead of Midterms (opens Common Dreams in a new tab)
Common Dreams — is Common Dreams biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ICE Secretly Investigated Hundreds of Nonprofits Across the Country (opens The New Republic in a new tab)
The New Republic — is The New Republic biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens CNN in a new tab)
- ICE Is Reportedly Now Asking Immigrant Detainees If They Voted Illegally Ahead of Election (opens Latin Times in a new tab)
Latin Times — is Latin Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- In run-up to election, ICE is asking detainees if they voted illegally (opens The Washington Post in a new tab)
The Washington Post — is The Washington Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
9- Trump Ramps Up Investigations Into Voter Registration (opens Political Wire in a new tab)
Political Wire — is Political Wire biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ICE probes voting groups, infiltrates anti-ICE crews in election crackdown (opens Newsweek in a new tab)
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens kioncentralcoast.com in a new tab)
kioncentralcoast.com — is kioncentralcoast.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens KESQ in a new tab)
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens KMIZ in a new tab)
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens KEYT in a new tab)
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens KVIA in a new tab)
- ICE reviewed tens of millions of voter records looking for noncitizen voters, records show (opens KRDO in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
1How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
