US targets foreign voters

US authorities have charged several foreigners with unlawfully registering to vote, including two South Africans: Hester Weihmann, 69, and Hanlie Venter, 67.

Timing of crackdowns

The crackdowns are happening as the US heads into midterm elections on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and as South Africa approaches local government elections the following day.

Trump's Afrikaner refugee order

In February 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting resettlement of Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination in South Africa.

South Africa's sharp response

South Africa's government called the order ironic, noting it offered refugee status to economically privileged Afrikaners while vulnerable people from other countries faced deportation.

“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.”

Weihmann's false citizenship claim

At the end of September 2026, US authorities announced that Weihmann was accused of making a false claim of citizenship in order to vote in November 2024. She has pleaded not guilty.

Judge recusal demand

The US wants the presiding judge, John Tunheim, recused after he made comments suggesting he does not support the Trump administration's extreme approach to immigration enforcement.

Venter's illegal voting charge

Hanlie Venter was charged last month for illegally voting in the November 2024 federal election. She was born in South Africa and moved to America in 2020.

Venter's residency status

In 2021, Venter successfully applied for lawful permanent residency. She registered to vote in September 2024 and voted in November 2024 in McDonald County, Missouri.

Permanent residents cannot vote

Lawful permanent residents are not allowed to vote in federal elections and are not allowed to vote in state or local elections in Missouri, according to the US Attorney's Office.

Venter's potential sentence

If found guilty, Venter could face a year in prison and a one hundred thousand dollar fine, around one point six million rand.

Mullin's warning to non-citizens

On September 30, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced federal charges against ten non-citizens for unlawful voting in Minnesota, including Weihmann.

“Our message to aliens who vote in American elections is clear: we will find you, arrest you, and you will face the consequences, including criminal charges and deportation.”

Judge's rule of law concerns

Judge Tunheim told the New York Times that authorities were not arresting people who were dangerous criminals on the street, raising questions about enforcement priorities.

“They weren't arresting, in my view, people who were dangerous criminals on the street.”

DOJ calls comments political

The Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint, describing Tunheim's statement as an unvarnished political opinion that calls into question his impartiality in the Weihmann case.

“an unvarnished political opinion”

Case status remains unclear

It was not immediately clear what had become of the complaint against Tunheim or the case against Weihmann, as both appeared still to be concluded.