Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) joined a coalition of over 30 Democratic senators in a late‑September letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, warning that recent DHS actions threaten the constitutional authority of Congress and the states to run elections.

Key accusations

The senators claim the department has promoted the President’s unfounded election conspiracy theories, pressured states to engage in illegal activities, and threatened to cut grant funding or launch criminal investigations against states that do not comply with the administration’s demands.

Specific concerns include:

• Failure to publicly assure that ICE or Customs and Border Protection personnel will not be sent to polling places, despite federal law barring their presence.
• The deployment of Homeland Security Investigation agents to nine states, including Pennsylvania, for a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative,” which the senators say lacks verifiable evidence of widespread non‑citizen voter fraud.
• Alleged coercion of states to provide sensitive voter‑roll data, citing an executive order signed by President Trump that directs DHS to compare state voter registration lists against federal immigration databases and overhaul the SAVE program.

Legal and procedural objections

The senators reference the National Voter Registration Act, which prohibits systematic removal of ineligible voters within 90 days of an election, arguing that DHS’s actions violate this statute.

They also dispute Secretary Mullin’s July claim that 250,000 non‑citizens were registered to vote in four states, noting that officials in Nevada and other states have shown the numbers were inflated and that courts have dismissed DOJ attempts to access state voter‑roll data.

Impact on grants and FEMA programs

The letter criticizes recent FEMA changes to the Urban Area Security Initiative and State Homeland Security Grant Program, arguing that new conditions tied to election‑security compliance jeopardize grant distribution and community safety.

Response from DHS and FEMA

A DHS spokesperson countered that ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations and that any enforcement actions would be intelligence‑driven and limited to genuine public‑safety threats.

Secretary Mullin previously downplayed concerns, stating that non‑citizens should not be voting and that ICE presence at polls would only occur if there were a specific threat.

DHS also asserted that its actions are aimed at protecting election infrastructure under existing statutory authority, emphasizing a focus on removing aliens who vote and preventing dilution of U.S. citizens’ votes.

A FEMA spokesperson framed the department’s measures as “common‑sense” steps to safeguard election integrity and warned that states must comply with new requirements to receive full grant awards.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.