Skip to content

Immigration & BorderDeveloping

Homeland Security announces arrests and investigations over suspected noncitizen voting

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly right-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Carved seal of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security mounted on a grey wall
Image via The Washington TimesHow images are chosenReport this image

Three outlets report that the Department of Homeland Security has announced arrests over alleged noncitizen voting before the 2026 midterms. The Washington Times reports that a government official told a federal court that 1,900 active cases are open and that a judge’s recent ruling imposing limits on interviews could undercut them. The Daily Caller, citing documents it obtained, reports 13 arrests, and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that dozens of noncitizens who illegally voted had been arrested. The Independent reports that the administration announced more than 50 arrests, and says the cases appear to stem from isolated incidents and errors, with no evidence of a concerted effort among Democrats.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. A government official told a federal court that Homeland Security has 1,900 current active cases on suspected noncitizen voting.

    One outletThe Washington Times· Right

  2. The official said a judge’s recent ruling imposing new limits on interviews could undercut those investigations.

    One outletThe Washington Times· Right

  3. The Department of Homeland Security announced arrests over alleged voter fraud and other election-related offenses shortly before the midterm elections.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Independent
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  4. Documents obtained by the Daily Caller show 13 noncitizens arrested in connection with alleged voter fraud.

    One outletThe Daily Caller· Far Right

  5. The Independent reports that the administration announced more than 50 arrests alleging illegal voting, fraudulent voter registration and related election crimes.

    One outletThe Independent· Left

Show 2 more pointsShow fewer points

  1. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said dozens of noncitizens who illegally voted had been arrested.

    One outletThe Daily Caller· Far Right

  2. The Department of Justice has charged at least 180 people with illegally voting or registering as noncitizens since the start of Trump’s second term, according to a Washington Post analysis cited by The Independent.

    One outletThe Independent· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • Dozens of noncitizens illegally voted and have been arrested for it.

    DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin says so. The Daily Caller notes its documents do not establish that every named person has been convicted. The Independent says the cases appear to stem from isolated incidents and errors.

  • The number of voter-fraud arrests or cases in this round.

    The Daily Caller reports 13 arrests from documents it obtained. The Independent reports the administration announced more than 50 arrests. The Washington Times reports a government official told a court of 1,900 active investigations.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that the Department of Homeland Security has announced arrests over alleged noncitizen voting shortly before the midterms. The right-side outlets stress the scale of ongoing investigations and enforcement, while the left-side outlet stresses escalation and reports that the cases appear isolated.

  • the left

    1 outlet

    Frames the arrests as an escalation tied to the president’s election doubts, with scare quotes around ‘voter fraud’ in the headline; this is the only left-side coverage in the input.

    Trump’s team ratchets up Delegitimizing label“‘voter fraud’”Scare quotes signal in the outlet’s own voice that the term is doubtful before the cases have been tested.More neutral: illegal voting arrestsDisagree with this highlight? arrests as president Loaded verb“sows election doubts”“Sows” attributes an intent to the president in the outlet’s own voice, where a neutral verb can report what he has said.More neutral: as the president raises doubts about the electionDisagree with this highlight?
    The IndependentLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Headlines present enforcement as large and ongoing, citing investigation counts and court filings; the Daily Caller goes further, calling those arrested illegal immigrants charged with fraud and labeling the report an exclusive.

    ICE is investigating 1,900 cases of suspected noncitizen voting
    The Washington TimesRightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left4

    A flood of casesflooding social media‘voter fraud’sows election doubts

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right2

    Drops New Batch OfIllegal Immigrants

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    Drops New Batch OfMore neutral: Announces new arrests of

    “Drops” suggests the arrests were dumped or unloaded, where “announces” describes the same DHS action neutrally.

    EXCLUSIVE: ICE Drops New Batch Of Illegal Immigrants Charged With Voter Fraud Ahead Of Midterms

    Used byThe Daily Caller (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    Illegal ImmigrantsMore neutral: noncitizens

    “Illegal immigrants” labels people by immigration status in the headline before any charge is tested in court; the other outlets use “noncitizens”.

    EXCLUSIVE: ICE Drops New Batch Of Illegal Immigrants Charged With Voter Fraud Ahead Of Midterms

    Used byThe Daily Caller (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    A flood of casesMore neutral: A number of cases

    “Flood” suggests a volume out of proportion to the arrests the article itself reports as more than 50.

    A flood of cases targeting noncitizens appear to stem from isolated incidents and errors but could…

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    flooding social mediaMore neutral: posting on social media

    “Flooding” implies excess in the outlet’s own voice; the sentence can state only that agencies post images and videos.

    …voter registration, and related election crimes.” Federal agencies are flooding social media with images and videos of agents in their official blue windbreakers…

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

Show 2 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Delegitimizing label

    ‘voter fraud’More neutral: illegal voting arrests

    Scare quotes signal in the outlet’s own voice that the term is doubtful before the cases have been tested.

    Trump’s team ratchets up ‘voter fraud’ arrests as president sows election doubts

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    sows election doubtsMore neutral: as the president raises doubts about the election

    “Sows” attributes an intent to the president in the outlet’s own voice, where a neutral verb can report what he has said.

    Trump’s team ratchets up ‘voter fraud’ arrests as president sows election doubts

    Used byThe Independent (Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

  • escalation of arrests
  • president’s election doubts
  • isolated incidents and errors
  • no evidence of a coordinated effort
See the headline from the leftHide the headlines
  • The IndependentLeft

    Trump’s team ratchets up Delegitimizing label“‘voter fraud’”Scare quotes signal in the outlet’s own voice that the term is doubtful before the cases have been tested.More neutral: illegal voting arrestsDisagree with this highlight? arrests as president Loaded verb“sows election doubts”“Sows” attributes an intent to the president in the outlet’s own voice, where a neutral verb can report what he has said.More neutral: as the president raises doubts about the electionDisagree with this highlight?

    Sensational language“A flood of cases”“Flood” suggests a volume out of proportion to the arrests the article itself reports as more than 50.More neutral: A number of casesDisagree with this highlight? targeting noncitizens appear to stem from isolated incidents and errors but could have serious consequences — including prison and deportation

    Read at The Independent (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • scale of ongoing investigations
  • arrests ahead of the midterms
  • judge’s ruling limiting interviews
  • noncitizens illegally voting
See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Daily CallerFar Right

    EXCLUSIVE: ICE Loaded verb“Drops New Batch Of”“Drops” suggests the arrests were dumped or unloaded, where “announces” describes the same DHS action neutrally.More neutral: Announces new arrests ofDisagree with this highlight? Loaded modifier“Illegal Immigrants”“Illegal immigrants” labels people by immigration status in the headline before any charge is tested in court; the other outlets use “noncitizens”.More neutral: noncitizensDisagree with this highlight? Charged With Voter Fraud Ahead Of Midterms

    ‘When the facts support criminal charges, we pursue them’

    Read at The Daily Caller (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    ICE is investigating 1,900 cases of suspected noncitizen voting

    Homeland Security agents have 1,900 current active cases probing suspected noncitizen voting, a government official told a federal court on Tuesday, saying all of those investigations could be undercut by a judge's recent ruling imposing new limits on interviews.

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    23 hr 51 min later

    Its first report, Oct 28, 3:20 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    First to report

    The Washington Times, Oct 27, 3:29 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Washington TimesRightOct 27, 3:29 PM EDT
  2. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 28, 11:46 AM EDT
  3. The IndependentLeftOct 28, 3:20 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page