It’s Been a Heck of a Ride

In the last several months since President Trump returned to office, it feels like we’ve been trying to keep up with a relentless wave of activity. This administration has advanced rapidly, and for us in the news industry, it’s akin to firing a shotgun and attempting to track each pellet’s path.

We’ve seen the passing of the major new bill now signed into law. Additionally, Homeland Security and ICE continue their work to detain and deport individuals here illegally amid widespread and seemingly inexplicable opposition. The Trump administration has also pushed NATO countries to increase their defense budgets and has negotiated several significant peace agreements.

Amid lingering uncertainties about the 2020 election, there’s another substantial initiative the Trump administration is concentrating on, which might be the most crucial of all: safeguarding election integrity. The administration has made notable strides in this area, so let’s delve into what has been achieved so far.

Cleaning Up Biden-Era Actions

These efforts began almost the moment that President Trump reassumed office in January. Some highlights:

The DOJ voluntarily dismissed a Biden-era lawsuit challenging Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s voter roll cleanup efforts. Virginia NVRA 90-day Quiet Period – United States v. Virginia (E.D. Va.)

The court issued an order dismissing the Biden-era claims in the Texas redistricting case LULAC v. Texas (Case No.: 3:21-cv-00259) (W.D. Tex.). The Biden administration originally challenged the 2021 redistricting plans for the congressional delegation and state house in Texas for vote dilution under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA).

March 14^th: The DOJ dismissed a Biden-era lawsuit against Alabama, in which the previous administration had filed the action in 2024 after the secretary of state in Alabama had taken steps to remove ineligible alien voters from their voter rolls in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election.   

March 24^th: The DOJ withdrew a Biden-era case against Houston County, Georgia’s at-large voting system.

April 4^th: The DOJ dismissed the Biden-era lawsuit against the 2021 Georgia voting law (“Jim Crow 2.0” case).

April 21^st: The DOJ dropped the Biden-era lawsuit accusing Hazelton, Pennsylvania, of diluting the Hispanic vote.

The Biden/Autopen administration wasn’t exactly friendly towards efforts at election integrity, which in itself seems good enough reason to reverse course. It also exacerbates people’s concerns about the 2020 election. The previous administration seemed determined to shut down every state and local effort to clean up voter rolls and ensure election integrity, but that’s all over now.

Prosecuting Illegal Voters

The left loves to claim that the number of people who truly vote illegally is too small to worry about. That’s a canard. If even one person is voting illegally, whether they be an illegal alien or disqualified for any other reason, that’s one too many. The Biden/Autopen administration looked the other way; the Trump administration is not. Again, some highlights:

February 3^rd: Carlos Jose Abreu, 45, an illegal alien living in Broward County, Florida, appeared in federal court to face charges of impersonating a United States citizen when registering to vote and when voting in a federal election. Abreu is also charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm. On June 12^th: Abreu was sentenced to 65 months in prison followed by three years supervised release, after pleading guilty in two consolidated federal cases (24-cr-60155 and 25-cr-60015) to the following charges: (1) falsely claiming United States citizenship to register to vote; (2) using a United States citizen’s name to vote; (3) possessing firearms as an alien without lawful status; (4) making false statements in support of a passport application; and (5) aggravated identity theft. As a condition of his supervised release, he was also ordered to turn himself in to immigration authorities for removal proceedings.

A non-U.S. citizen, living in South Florida, was charged with federal crimes after using false identity documents to apply for a U.S. passport, registering to vote, and voting in multiple U.S. general elections using a fraudulent identity.

April 29^th: Two Ukrainian women with no United States citizenship have been charged with unlawfully voting in the general election for the United States presidential election during early voting in Palm Beach, Florida, on October 31, 2024.

June 11^th: A convicted aggravated felon and Haitian permanent resident was arrested in Miami, Florida, for unlawful voting and casting a false ballot.

June 17^th: HSI Miami arrested two foreign nationals from Cuba and Turks and Caicos for voter fraud.

These are just a few examples; there are more. And here’s the thing: The law is the law. What Democrats don’t seem to get is that laws aren’t selectively enforced. There is no acceptable level of voter registration fraud or people voting illegally.