‘We will find you, hunt you down’: Trump admin warns ‘illegal’ voters as US midterms voting begins

The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a stern warning to people whom it considers to be “illegal” voters and threatened to track them down and prosecute them if they attempt to vote in the 2026 US midterm elections despite being ineligible to do so.

Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), said only American citizens should have a say in deciding the country’s elections.

“If you vote illegally in this country, and you are NOT eligible to vote, @DHSgov will find you, hunt you down, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Only American citizens should be deciding American elections,” Mullin wrote in a post on X.

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The Department of Justice also announced that it was deploying more than 1,000 election monitors and observers across the country on Election Day to ensure free and fair elections.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced the deployment in a post on X.

“Happy Election Day! @CivilRights is sending 1,000+ monitors & observers to all 50 states to help ensure a free & fair election. Every American’s vote should count,” Dhillon wrote.

She also urged voters to report any problems to their local election officials or the department.

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The Justice Department described the exercise as the largest election-monitoring effort in its history and the first time it had deployed observers in all 50 states. The operation is being coordinated by the Civil Rights Division, with personnel drawn from various DOJ divisions, US Attorneys’ Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.

Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter also said that anyone voting unlawfully and illegally will be caught, and prosecuted.

“Anyone who’s voting unlawfully—voting illegally—they will be caught, and we will prosecute them,” he said.

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Meanwhile, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said it will not hold its usual media briefings on Tuesday, breaking with a practice followed during previous presidential and midterm elections.

CISA used to hold regular calls with journalists during major elections since 2017, when the Obama administration designated election systems as critical infrastructure.

The agency responsible for protecting US infrastructure against cyber and physical threats said it is prepared to respond to potential security incidents.

“CISA remains fully equipped and prepared to address any national security cyber threats that face our nation. With the top experts in the industry and most advanced tools and technology, under the Trump administration, CISA is stronger than ever,” the spokesperson said.