Freshly released documents indicate that officials within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) examined the feasibility of employing a technology platform supported by Palantir to monitor individuals suspected of illegal voting. The disclosure, published this week by the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, stems from a Freedom of Information Act request and underscores the Trump administration’s intensified focus on alleged voter fraud ahead of the midterm elections.
The records reveal that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has assumed a central role in federal inquiries into election irregularities. Specifically, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)—one of ICE’s two primary divisions—is leading these efforts through its Innovation Lab, known internally as iLab, which is developing analytic tools for field agents.
Chinmayi Sharma, an associate professor at Fordham Law School who monitors the ELITE system, told WIRED that the objective appears to be creating a capability that rapidly identifies subjects for investigation. “You would want to build off of what already exists, what might already have the infrastructure and data sources that you would want,” Sharma said.
Internal correspondence from May 26 shows a worker in HSI’s Countering Transnational Organized Crime unit detailing the processing of Department of Justice voting rolls and data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. While criminal history data was excluded at the time, the email highlighted ongoing coordination to ingest voter roll information into the ELITE enforcement system to improve lead management and investigative tracking.
ELITE, which stands for Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement, was first reported by 404 Media in January. The tool allows ICE agents using Palantir technology to generate maps of potential deportation targets and view confidence scores associated with their addresses. A Palantir representative stated that voter roll data had never been integrated into the ELITE system.
Additional emails from July 7, including one titled “Fraud WAR,” indicated that states such as Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and New Mexico had their data enriched by iLab and were awaiting entry into ELITE. A DHS official in the same communication chain noted that updates would be sent to the White House.
ICE declined to comment on specific investigative methods, stating only that it does not disclose techniques. A DHS spokesperson added that while HSI cannot discuss active investigations, the unit is “actively rooting out and investigating election fraud wherever it can be found.” The White House did not respond to requests for comment regarding the potential use of ELITE to track noncitizen voters.
These revelations follow broader claims by the Trump administration that noncitizen voting is prevalent enough to influence election outcomes. However, extensive evidence suggests such voting is exceedingly rare. Under Secretary of DHS Markwayne Mullin, the department has identified only a handful of possible cases. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced charges in 16 cases involving foreign nationals, all of whom were lawful permanent residents.
Despite the limited findings, the documents suggest a long-term strategic shift. The May 26 email described a move toward a “network-based investigative approach,” prioritizing organizational analysis over individual leads. Sharma noted that the language implies the system was still under development rather than operational.
Sharma argued that the decision to house voter fraud investigations within DHS is likely driven by practical considerations rather than traditional jurisdictional fit. “There’s just a lot of synergies you can take advantage of,” Sharma said, citing existing authorities, infrastructure, vendor relationships, and contract vehicles as key factors.
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