Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin warned on Friday, the 17th, that state officials could face funding cuts or investigations if they fail to comply with President Donald Trump’s election security requirements.

Mullin made these remarks during a press conference held shortly after President Trump’s address to the nation on Friday evening, where he announced the declassification of documents detailing failures in election integrity.

“We are going to mandate security enhancement measures,” Secretary Mullin stated. “This means that for state governments to receive grants and be reimbursed for the costs of conducting federal elections, they must address security issues.”

These measures include purging voter rolls and strengthening the security of voting machines.

The Associated Press reported that “experts analyzed that these threats, coming just months before midterm elections that will determine congressional control, would likely be ineffective,” noting that “President Trump’s voting-related policies have reached a stalemate due to court rulings, and constitutional authority over election administration lies with state governments.”

However, the President’s national address the previous day and documents released by the White House clearly demonstrated that the U.S. election system is not at a trustworthy level, which could pose a significant challenge for states preparing for the November elections.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a warning that day, stating: “To any illegal immigrant attempting to vote in our elections: We will find you, we will track you down, and we will prosecute you.”

“We can build the trust of the American people, but each state government must also play its part,” Secretary Mullin said.

He noted that President Trump is not attempting to re-examine the results of the 2020 election but is “simply about uncovering what happened and ensuring it never happens again.”

Secretary Mullin confirmed that 250,000 non-citizen voters were identified on voter rolls in California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania—an assertion also made by President Trump in his national address on Thursday.

Election officials in California and Pennsylvania have stated they will review the Trump administration’s findings, but maintain that they manage their own voter rolls and that non-citizen voting is extremely rare.

Secretary Mullin shared California's review results on X. This came in response to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s statement: “California conducts free, fair, and secure elections, and we will fight for them. Bring it on.”

Mullin retorted, “DHS’s preliminary review shows that 81,336 registered California voters match names, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers of non-citizens in our files. Furthermore, it takes California four weeks to count votes in municipal elections. Third-world countries do better.”

The issue is that there is no system to verify if a non-citizen intentionally attempts to register to vote. Secretary Mullin urged all state governments to participate in the recently revamped DHS SAVE program.

Since the Trump administration significantly expanded the search capabilities, at least 25 states have used the program to verify voter rolls since April 2025, and the administration has been demanding that states submit voter data to the program to fully audit their voter lists.

However, 23 states and territories, including California and Washington D.C., are currently litigating against federal demands to submit their voter rolls.

According to the AP, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar (a Democrat) stated, “We are continuously reviewing information to determine how many registered voters in Nevada do not have a Social Security number registered,” adding, “We have put significant effort into keeping our voter rolls as clean as possible.”

However, critics point out that this is not a sufficient explanation, as having a Social Security number does not guarantee citizenship.

NNP USA / Representative Reporter Hong Seong-gu / Special Correspondent for NNP info@newsandpost.com