Texas AG Investigating 33 Noncitizens Accused of Illegally Voting in 2024 Election

The investigation comes after the president directed the Department of Homeland Security to give states access to a citizenship verification database.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas on Aug. 5, 2022. Bobby Sanchez/The Epoch Times

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on June 17 that he was investigating 33 potential noncitizens who are accused of voting in the 2024 election.

The investigations follow a referral from Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson after the state gained access to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database. President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year directing the Department of Homeland Security to offer access to the database to all states at no cost.

The SAVE database was updated in May to allow state and local authorities to input Social Security numbers to verify U.S. citizenship of voters to prevent illegal immigrants from participating in federal, state, or municipal elections.

In a June 17 statement announcing the investigations, Paxton said he would “use the full weight” of his office to investigate “all voter fraud.”

“In order to be able to trust the integrity of our elections, the results must be determined by our own citizens—not foreign nationals breaking the law to illegally vote,” Paxton said in a statement. “These potential instances of unlawful voting will be thoroughly investigated, and I will continue to stand with President Trump in fighting to ensure that our state’s elections are safe and secure.”

Paxton’s office did not state whether the 33 individuals are already known to be noncitizens or whether determining that is part of the investigation. His office did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.

Trump signed an executive order in March directing federal officials to ensure illegal immigrants and other noncitizens do not vote in federal elections. The order also called for U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against any states that count ballots received after Election Day.

Back in early May, Paxton arrested and indicted six individuals, including several public officials, for an alleged vote harvesting scheme in Frio County. The arrests came after the attorney general’s office executed multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa, and Bexar Counties as part of a multi-year investigation into allegations of vote harvesting.

Those who were accused and indicted for vote harvesting or “tampering with or fabricating physical evidence” were Frio County Judge Rochelle Camacho, former Frio County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura, Ramiro Trevino and Racheal Garza of the Pearsall City Council, Pearsall ISD Trustee Adriann Ramirez, and Rosa Rodriguez of Frio County.

All except for Camacho were arrested on May 2.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.