The same day the District of Columbia's voting law went into effect, March 14, the Immigration Reform Law Institute filed suit on behalf of Stacia Hall, a former Republican candidate for D.C. mayor, and on behalf of six other D.C. voters.
Washington, D.C.’s city council passed the Local Resident Voting Rights Act last fall. It allows noncitizens to vote if they have resided in the city for at least 30 days.
IRLI is affiliated with the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, which is interviewed frequently by AFN on immigration matters.
Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for both groups, says the immigration watchdog involved its legal arm because the new law allows illegal aliens, including diplomats in foreign embassies, to cast a ballot
“Under this law, people working for the Chinese embassy can vote in local elections,” he points out. “It is so absurd. It's hard to believe that any legislative body would do that.”
New York City passed a similar law in 2021 which was challenged in court and struck down as a violation of the New York Constitution, according to a Fox News story.
Mehlman warns there is an ongoing effort to diminish and dilute the value of citizenship to the point that eventually state and federal elections will include noncitizens who can cast a ballot, too.
“At some point you have to question what is the value of American citizenship,” he says, “if it doesn't make you any different from anybody who just happens to wander in."
