DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin defended President Donald Trump’s push for citizenship checks in federal elections on Sunday, saying the Department of Homeland Security was preparing for the 2026 midterms by reviewing voter information and records.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mullin told host Kasie Hunt that the administration’s goal was to make sure only U.S. citizens are casting ballots.
“Well, we’re going to make sure that our Constitution is upheld, meaning that only citizens of the United States are voting,” Mullin said.
Hunt asked what DHS planned to do with voter information collected under Trump’s election-related order. Mullin said the administration was focused on protecting “the integrity of our election.”
He argued that the federal election cycle is central to the country’s system of government and said citizenship verification should not be seen as controversial.
“What we want to make sure is that every vote actually counts, that we’re not having games like you might see in sanctuary cities,” Mullin said. “I’m not saying they are. I’m just saying, but why wouldn’t we want to make sure that it’s safe?”
Hunt pressed him on how widespread noncitizen voting actually is. She cited a Heritage Foundation count showing 25 prosecutions in voter fraud cases where citizenship was at issue. Mullin pushed back on the idea that the number was too small to warrant federal attention.
“Twenty-five is 25 too many,” he said. “It’s kind of like one illegal death, one individual that dies from the hands of an illegal is one too many. It’s all preventable. One person voting illegally is one too many.”
Mullin said DHS wanted the 2026 midterm elections to be trusted and viewed as secure. However, he did not name the specific states or voter rolls he was referring to when making broader claims about registration problems.
“If you start looking and scrubbing some of these rolls, we see thousands of individuals that are registered to vote and that has had mail-out ballots to them,” Mullin said.
The exchange followed earlier questions Mullin faced during his confirmation hearing about whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could be stationed near polling places. At the time, Mullin questioned why anyone would object to immigration enforcement at voting sites.
“I don’t understand what the concern about enforcing immigration at polling places is anyways,” Mullin said during the March hearing. “Because, honestly, if you’re not a citizen, you shouldn’t be voting anyways.”
Trump signed the executive order on March 31, directing DHS to work with the Social Security Administration to compile and send state citizenship lists to election officials before federal elections. The White House said the order was intended to verify voter eligibility and strengthen procedures around mail-in and absentee ballots.
The order is part of Trump’s election integrity push, which has focused heavily on voting rules, citizenship verification, and mail-in ballot procedures. Supporters of the effort argue that stricter checks are needed to prevent illegal voting and reassure the public that elections are secure.
Critics, however, have raised concerns about the scope of the federal government’s role in state-run elections and whether expanded voter-roll reviews could affect eligible voters. Mullin’s comments on Sunday made clear that the administration plans to keep citizenship verification at the center of its election agenda heading into the midterms.
