Republican Warns of Biden Order Allowing Illegal Immigrants, Felons to Vote

An election worker opens envelopes containing vote-by-mail ballots in a file photo. Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images

A Republican secretary of state sent a letter this week to the Department of Justice (DOJ) alerting it to an executive order signed in 2021 that he says will allow felons and illegal aliens to register to vote in elections.

In the letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Republican Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson wrote that a Biden-signed executive order has led to agencies under Mr. Garland’s charge “attempting to register people to vote, including potentially ineligible felons and to co-opt state and local officials into accomplishing this goal.”

The order, which the White House described as an effort to promote “access to voting,” suggested that it was designed to eliminate racial discrimination at the polls. It told federal agencies, including the DOJ, to “consider ways to expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and to obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.”

Mr. Watson took issue with one provision that directed the DOJ to ensure that the U.S. Marshals Service change jail and “intergovernmental agreements” to mandate that the facilities “provide educational materials related to voter registration and voting,” and “facilitate voting by mail, to the extent practicable and appropriate.”

The problem, according to Mr. Watson, is that those materials may be given to people who can’t vote such as felons and illegal aliens. State officials are also essentially being forced to comply with the rules, he said.

“Our understanding is that everyone in the Marshals’ custody is given a form advising them of their right to register and vote,” his letter said, according to Fox News. “Providing ineligible non-citizens with information on how to register to vote undoubtedly encourages them to illegally register to vote, exposing them to legal jeopardy beyond their immigration status.”

The letter said that the secretary of state’s office believes that providing a form to illegal immigrants who are jailed to advise them of their right to vote “undoubtedly encourages them to illegally” do so and exposes them to “legal jeopardy.”

It also noted that some individuals in jail custody “only have fleeting ties to Mississippi and do not meet the residency requirements necessary to be a Mississippi voter.”

“Many outside groups performing voter registration and vote harvesting services are partisan entities with a history of being unreliable. There have been documented instances of these groups providing incorrect directions to voters,” the Republican official warned. “It is not proper for the Federal government to push partisan groups into the voting process in Mississippi or any other state.”

The Epoch Times contacted the DOJ for comment but didn’t receive a reply by press time.

Speaking to Fox News, Mr. Watson said the issue should be immediately considered because the 2024 election is just months away. Citing the significant number of illegal border crossings in recent years, the secretary said they could try to register to vote and cast ballots in the coming months, while other Republican officials in recent years have warned that illegal immigrants could register to vote and cast ballots in favor of Democratic candidates.

“If you look at what’s going on at the border when you’ve got so many illegal aliens pouring into our country, imagine the efforts used to get them to register to vote and that’s what this is all about,” he told the outlet on March 11. “It’s about control, it’s about continuing their power, and unfortunately that puts our country in a terrible position, so it’s immediate and it’s something where we hope they will respect our request to stop the program.”

A group of more than 1,000 illegal aliens walk toward a U.S. Border Patrol field processing center after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

With just eight months to go before the November election, illegal immigration has increasingly become a focus among American voters, according to recent opinion polls. A poll released in late February showed that about six in 10 Americans believe illegal immigration is now a serious problem and a majority now back the construction of a border wall, which former President Donald Trump has championed.

During President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech to Congress, he made reference to an illegal immigrant who allegedly murdered a college student, using the term “illegal” to describe the individual.

But he later retracted his comments over the weekend, telling MSNBC that he “shouldn’t have used the term illegal.” Instead, the president said he would use the term “undocumented” immigrant—a term that has risen to prominence among Democratic politicians and legacy news outlets in recent years.

When asked the same question last week, the president replied, “Technically, he’s not supposed to be” in the United States.

The president also said on March 9 that “they built the country,” referring to illegal immigrants. “The reason our economy is growing. We have to control the border and more orderly flow,” he said.