Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
US non-profit government-ethics watchdog that brings public-records lawsuits.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a records suit and an injunction motion against DHS and USCIS on 29 September 2026, seeking proof for the federal government's count of 250,000 non-citizen registrants.
Last refreshed: 1 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Timeline for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Filed a FOIA suit and injunction motion a day earlier
US Midterms 2026: Watchdog sues DHS over Mullin's 250,000Background
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW, is a non-partisan, non-profit government-ethics watchdog founded in 2003 and based in Washington. Its main instrument is litigation: Freedom of Information Act suits and complaints that force agencies to disclose records or answer for Conduct.
In September 2026 it turned that method on the government's voter-roll claims. Its suit against the Department of Homeland Security and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, filed on 29 September with a motion for a preliminary injunction, targets the records behind Secretary Markwayne Mullin's July statement that 250,000 non-citizens were registered to vote. The injunction request asks the Court to speed disclosure rather than wait out the normal FOIA timetable. American Oversight brought a similar suit the following day.
CREW's weight comes from persistence in court: a FOIA suit can compel release of records that an agency has declined to produce voluntarily.
Why is CREW suing the Department of Homeland Security?
What is Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington?
What does CREW stand for?
