Federal authorities charged more than two dozen foreign nationals in California on Monday.

The Justice Department said the 28 people are lawful permanent residents, not U.S. citizens allowed to vote.

They face charges including false statements on naturalization applications and fraudulent voter registrations.

The sweep was called Operation Protect the Vote.

The arrests are part of a Trump administration push against noncitizen voting before next month's midterm elections.

Data shows such voting is very rare and has not been shown to change race outcomes.

Trent McCotter is the Justice Department's acting deputy attorney general.

He said at a Los Angeles news conference that the conduct causes real damage to real elections.

The Justice Department said it has charged 113 people in 20 states in recent weeks.

It said it had earlier charged about 90 people this year for election misconduct, including 50 alleged noncitizen voters.

More than 227 million people were registered to vote in the 2024 presidential election.

The operation involved all four U.S. attorneys' offices in California.

Among those arrested was a 72-year-old Belize-born man accused of voting illegally in four elections.

Last week the Justice Department sued California over its handling of mail ballots.

It also warned that election workers who knowingly process noncitizen ballots could face investigation.