Arizona to purge up to 50,000 noncitizens from voter rolls in election integrity win



All of Arizona's 15 counties are preparing to purge up to 50,000 noncitizens from their voter rolls as a result of a settlement with America First Legal.

On behalf of EZAZ.org and Yvonne Cahill, a registered voter and naturalized citizen, AFL filed a lawsuit in August against the counties, arguing that they violated state law by failing to require proof of citizenship to vote in local and state elections. The counties were also accused of failing to perform monthly noncitizen voter roll checks.

'It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in state and local elections.'

The complaint was terminated on April 9 after the parties reached a stipulation of dismissal.

As a result, all 15 counties sent requests to the Department of Homeland Security to assist them in cleaning up their voter rolls by verifying citizenship status.

Nearly 50,000 "federal-only" registered voters on the counties' rolls have not provided proof of citizenship, Fox News Digital reported.

AFL senior counsel James Rogers called the settlement "a great result for all Arizonans."

He told Fox News Digital that the counties' partnership with the DHS "will help County Recorders find and remove any aliens on their voter rolls."

"It will also potentially enfranchise federal-only voters whose citizenship is confirmed, which would allow them to vote in state and local elections. AFL congratulates each of Arizona's 15 county recorders for taking this bold and important step for election integrity in the state," Rogers stated.

On April 8, Maricopa County confirmed that the recorder's office had "initiated communications" with the DHS.

The county said, "The Office is seeking assistance to verify the citizenship status of registered voters who have not provided Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). This action aligns with Arizona law and underscores the Recorder's responsibility to maintain accurate voter registration rolls."

Maricopa County recorder Justin Heap stated, "I promised the voters of Maricopa County that I would pursue every avenue to clean up our voter rolls, and that's exactly what we're doing. Ensuring only citizens can cast a ballot in future elections is essential to restoring trust in Maricopa County elections. It is my sincere hope that DHS will respond affirmatively and provide the resources we need to run comprehensive checks of our voter registration system against their non-citizen database. 'One citizen, one vote' isn't just a slogan, it is the right of every American citizen."

Anything else?

In September, Maricopa County's then-recorder Stephen Richer explained that state officials had discovered a decade-old "flaw" that allowed 97,000 individuals to register to vote without providing proof of citizenship. He noted that the error had impacted every county since 2004.

"Unfortunately, the way the system was designed allowed for one group of voters through the cracks," Richer said.

The Secretary of State's Office later found that the number of registered voters with non-verified citizenship was actually closer to 218,000.

"This data set includes approximately 79,000 Republicans, 61,000 Democrats, and 76,000 Other Party (OTH), bringing the total of impacted individuals to approximately 218,000," the office stated.

AFL sued the office for "illegally withholding" the list of voters. Arizona's secretary of state turned over the list to AFL in November.

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Denver mayor used auto-delete messaging platform to have secret talks about migrant crisis



Democratic Denver Mayor Mike Johnston and his team used Signal, a messaging application with an auto-delete feature, to have secret communications about the sanctuary city's immigration crisis.

KCNC-TV revealed the scandal in a Thursday report, explaining that the mayor and 14 of his senior advisers, appointees, and lawyers created a "Strike Force" group on the application to have sensitive discussions that would otherwise have been accessible to the public through open records requests. Instead, the end-to-end encryption software and its auto-delete feature concealed their communications.

'Giving the impression that we are doing something we don't want the public to see.'

Joshua Posner, the mayor's director of strategic initiatives, sent a text message on January 15 to several administration members instructing them to move their conversations about immigration to Signal, KCNC reported.

Posner wrote, "We are going to use Signal to communicate with Strike Force so that communication remains encrypted and secure (and messages auto delete.)"

He proceeded to explain to the mayor's team how to download the application to their phones.

Steven Zansberg, a Denver attorney, told KCNC that the actions of the mayor and his administration were "unlawful."

"It deprives us of the rights we have as Coloradans to observe the conduct of public business," he stated, noting that three years is the "standard records retention requirement."

"It seems like a pretty plain, straightforward, deliberate effort to evade transparency," Zansberg concluded.

Jeff Roberts, director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, also argued that the move undermined that state's open records law.

"This is not transparent," Roberts told the news outlet. "They are giving the impression that we are doing something we don't want the public to see. The city is saying at the get-go, 'These are records the public should never see.'"

When confronted about the messaging scandal, Johnston's office blamed President Donald Trump's administration.

Jordan Fuja, a spokesperson for the mayor, told KCNC, "When President Trump took office in January, it was clear that there would be rapidly developing changes to the way the federal government interacts with cities that could have significant impacts on how Denver operates. The particular group was started in January for internal staff to easily keep track of and share information regarding federal actions that impact Denver under the new administration."

Fuja argued, "The City retention schedule does not obligate city employees to retain electronic mail messages."

KCNC reported that the city confirmed Signal messages were set to auto-delete from January 15 to January 29, after which the feature was disabled.

The decision to move the communication to Signal came just weeks after America First Legal requested that Johnston's administration turn over communications related to immigration issues.

AFL demanded "all records, including communications, calendar entries, and documents mentioning or belonging to Mike Johnston, Mayor since November 1, 2024."

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Washington sues county for 'illegally collaborating' with Trump's immigration crackdown



Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit on Monday against the Adams County Sheriff's Office, claiming it has been "illegally collaborating" with the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

A press release from Brown's office argued that the sheriff's office had violated state law, including by holding individuals in custody "based only on their immigration status." The sheriff's office was also accused of helping immigration agents question those in its custody and "routinely" providing federal officials with individuals' "confidential personal information."

'Public safety should never be a political issue.'

Brown's office contended that Washington law does not impede the federal government's ability to enforce immigration law. However, it claimed that the sheriff's office violated the Keep Washington Working Act by "providing local aid" in immigration enforcement.

"Courts have ruled multiple times that states have the ability to restrict such activity with the federal government. The suit is asking for the Adams County Sheriff's Office to follow Washington law," the press release read.

Brown stated, "Late last year Adams County was engaged in good faith settlement negotiations with our office."

"But after the inauguration of Donald Trump, the county and its Sheriff's Office suddenly hardened their stance, broke off settlement talks, and aligned themselves with an organization founded by a top Trump aide who is among the most virulent anti-immigrant voices in the administration," he claimed, referring to America First Legal's Stephen Miller.

Brown's office accused AFL of "attacking Washington's law" after the organization issued a press release in late February vowing to defend Adams County "against the unlawful and abusive effort by Washington state officials to enforce illegal and dangerous sanctuary laws and policies and compel Adams County to violate federal immigration laws."

AFL reported that Washington officials had previously threatened to sue Adams County for its refusal to support the state's sanctuary policies.

James Rogers, senior counsel with AFL, stated, "Federal law is clear: It is a crime to conceal, harbor, or shield illegal aliens, and it is a crime to prevent federal officials from discharging their duties."

Brown's lawsuit argued, "Washington has the right and the responsibility to decide for itself how to use its own resources to keep residents safe and the economy strong."

"The State cannot stand by when elected officials publicly boast that they are breaking state law and putting their own communities at risk," it continued. "Rather than do the federal government's job — and absorb the uncompensated fiscal, legal, operational, and community-confidence costs that would come with it — the Keep Washington Working Act (KWW) ensures that Washington's limited law enforcement resources are best spent enforcing state law, solving crime, and helping ensure the state remains 'a place where the rights and dignity of all residents are maintained and protected in order to keep Washington working.'"

Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner responded to Brown's lawsuit, calling it a "disappointing attempt to hinder our ability to uphold public safety."

"Our deputies take an oath to protect our communities from criminal activity, regardless of where it originates. The claim that we are engaging in 'illegal federal immigration enforcement' misrepresents the reality of law enforcement in Adams County. We do not enforce federal immigration law, but we also will not turn a blind eye to criminal activity — no matter who commits it," Wagner's statement read.

The sheriff accused the state and its sanctuary policies of attempting to "tie the hands of law enforcement, making it harder to cooperate with federal agencies that help keep dangerous individuals off our streets."

"Public safety should never be a political issue, yet this lawsuit prioritizes ideology over the safety of our communities," Wagner added.

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Education Department Launches Investigation Into 5 Virginia School Districts For Allowing Boys In Girls’ Bathrooms

'If these school districts had any common sense, they’d end their trip to fantasyland and return to earth. If they don’t, they should absolutely lose their federal funding.'

Report: New Photos Show Joe Biden Meeting Hunter’s Chinese Business Partners, Introducing Son To Xi

Then Vice President Joe Biden met his son Hunter’s foreign business partners during a 2013 overseas trip to China, newly released photographs show. The unearthed records also document Hunter meeting Chinese dictator Xi Jinping. Obtained by America First Legal (AFL) via open records request, the photographs from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) appear […]

Judge strikes blow to Biden-Harris admin’s mass amnesty program



On Thursday, a federal judge dealt a significant blow to the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to provide mass amnesty to at least 550,000 illegal aliens currently residing in the United States.

Earlier this year, a coalition of 16 Republican-led states, spearheaded by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and America First Legal, filed a lawsuit against the administration for its “Keeping Families Together” program. The program would have granted amnesty to illegal immigrant spouses and stepchildren of American citizens, Blaze News previously reported.

'Once again, we have stopped the Biden-Harris Administration’s radical attempts to destroy America’s borders and undermine the rule of law.'

Additionally, the program would have permitted beneficiaries to parole in place, allowing them to remain in the country while their status is adjusted.

The lawsuit, filed by the 16 state attorneys general, argued that the administration’s claim that it would apply to roughly 550,000 illegal aliens was “likely a significant underestimate,” projecting that it could be closer to 1.3 million.

The complaint contended that the process was unconstitutional because it circumvented Congress and would “irreparably harm” the states’ communities.

U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker, a Trump-appointed judge, sided with the states’ lawsuit, striking down the program.

In his 74-page ruling, Barker stated that the administration’s program “focuses on the wrong thing in identifying ‘significant public benefits’ — the benefits of aliens’ new legal status, rather than their presence in this country.”

“The Rule exceeds statutory authority and is not in accordance with law for this reason as well,” he concluded, adding that the “defendants’ view stretches legal interpretation past its breaking point.”

“The court declares that defendants lack statutory authority … to grant parole ‘in place’ to aliens,” Barker wrote.

America First Legal Executive Director Gene Hamilton stated, “Since day one, the Biden-Harris administration has dedicated itself to the decimation of our immigration system and the erasure of our borders.”

“Time and again, the states stood up. And today, the great state of Texas and the courageous Ken Paxton, alongside a coalition of other brave attorneys general, succeeded in stopping an illegal program that would have provided amnesty to hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and paved the path for the largest administrative amnesty in American history,” Hamilton added.

Paxton wrote in a post on X, “Once again, we have stopped the Biden-Harris Administration’s radical attempts to destroy America’s borders and undermine the rule of law. This unlawful parole scheme would have rewarded more than 1 million illegal aliens with citizenship and incentivized millions more to break into our country. I look forward to the day when the federal government starts following the law again.”

The administration’s Department of Justice can decide to appeal Barker’s ruling.

Neither the White House nor the Department of Homeland Security responded to CBS News’ requests for comment.

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New Docs Reveal Facebook Trained CDC Bureaucrats How To Censor Americans

New documents reveal Facebook trained officials in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to censor American speech on “Covid & Vaccine Misinformation.” According to records made public by the conservative nonprofit America First Legal (AFL), Facebook opened up an “end-to-end workflow” allowing federal bureaucrats to flag posts for censorship. “The new […]

Secret Service allegedly drags feet on first Trump assassination attempt info — lawsuit holds feet to fire



The America First Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit Thursday afternoon against the United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the agencies of "illegally concealing government records" by slow-walking Freedom of Information Act requests it filed in July and August following the first attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump.

According to the lawsuit obtained by Blaze News, AFL opened an investigation into the deadly Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting on July 13. As part of its probe into the USSS' preparedness and response to the attack, AFL submitted several information requests to the DHS.

'Widespread and bipartisan acknowledgment that there were catastrophic failures.'

The agencies were asked to produce documents and records regarding communications on the day of the assassination attempt, calendar entries for some USSS and DHS personnel in the month leading up to the incident, and USSS' hiring and employment standards and staffing levels.

According to the complaint, all of the submitted FOIAs requested "expedited processing on the grounds that '[c]ircumstances in which the lack of expedited processing could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of [President Trump]'" and noted that there was also "an urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity, if made by a person who is primarily engaged in disseminating information."

AFL noted in its lawsuit that it received a letter from the USSS denying its request for expedited processing of information regarding the agency's staffing level.

The USSS allegedly told AFL that it had not "demonstrated that there is a threat to the life or physical safety of an individual nor [had AFL] demonstrated there is a particular urgency to inform the public about the government activity involved in the request, beyond the public's right to know about government activity, generally."

"Your letter was conclusory, in nature, and did not present any facts to justify a grant of expedited processing under the applicable standards," the agency reportedly responded.

On September 15, after the USSS told AFL that it failed to demonstrate that there was an imminent safety threat, a second attempt was made on Trump's life at his Florida golf course.

AFL Executive Director Gene Hamilton stated, "On July 13, the American people watched in horror as a lunatic attempted to assassinate former President, and current candidate for President, Donald Trump. Today, there is widespread and bipartisan acknowledgment that there were catastrophic failures that tragic day and in the weeks and months ahead of it."

"We are committed to obtaining these records so that the American people can see for themselves exactly what senior DHS leadership was prioritizing in its mission, and why more resources were not devoted to the protection of President Donald J. Trump," Hamilton added.

The USSS told Blaze News, "As a matter of longstanding policy, the U.S. Secret Service does not comment on pending or proposed litigation."

The DHS did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

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Arizona county faces lawsuit over alleged refusal to purge illegal immigrants from voter rolls



The America First Legal Foundation filed a lawsuit on Monday against Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer (R), arguing that the Arizona county has failed to purge illegal immigrants from its voter rolls.

A copy of the lawsuit, obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation, claimed that Richer and his office have “ignored” maintenance requirements for county recorders. It noted that in 2022, the state lawmakers adopted “stricter voter list” requirements to ensure the removal of foreign citizens. The adopted laws require monthly reviews of local voter rolls and comparisons with federal databases to verify citizenship status.

“[Richer] has failed to take the actions required by law to ensure that foreign citizens are removed from Maricopa County’s voter rolls,” the lawsuit read.

Founder of AFL and former senior advisor to President Donald Trump Stephen Miller told the DCNF, “America First Legal is leading the charge to keep illegal aliens from voting in 2024.”

“Maricopa County, in direct violation of state law, is refusing to remove illegal alien voters from the rolls,” Miller stated. “We are taking decisive action: suing Maricopa County for unlawfully permitting illegal aliens and foreign citizens to interfere in the 2024 election.”

A recent Rasmussen Reports survey, noted in AFL’s lawsuit, found that slightly more than 1% of likely voters in battleground states, including Arizona, admitted they are not citizens.

AFL previously sent demand letters to all Arizona counties, including Maricopa County, requesting the clean up of voter rolls. According to AFL, Richer’s attorney responded to the letter stating that his office would not be taking any further action, claiming it was already verifying voters’ citizenship status.

However, a July press release from the AFL contended that more than 35,000 registered voters in Arizona never provided proof of citizenship. The group noted that roughly 10,000 votes decided the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.

According to the New York Post, Arizona is one of at least 46 states that does not require documented proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Those seeking to register must only check a box claiming they are citizens. Proof of citizenship is required to vote in state or local elections in Arizona.

James Rogers, AFL legal senior counsel, told DCNF, “How can Arizonans have confidence in the integrity of their State’s elections when the government officials in charge of administering that election are not even following the law?”

“It is reasonable for Arizonans to be concerned,” Rogers added. “This lawsuit is about helping to restore the public’s trust by making sure that election officials follow the law and that foreigners are not able to influence the outcome of our elections.”

The Maricopa County Recorder’s Office did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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Complaint: Illegal Memo Lets People Who Fail ID Checks Onto Pennsylvania’s Voter Rolls Anyway

A Pennsylvania directive may allow noncitizens and other ineligible applicants to register to vote in violation of HAVA, a complaint alleges.