The Standing Record

This is the Standing Record for August 26, 2026. We recorded 5 events from August 25, 2026 that erode our democratic ideals and added 7 more from earlier dates — 432 so far this month, bringing the total archive to 1824. If you saw something happen — yesterday, or any other day — that belongs here, send it to our tip line.

DHS requested a contractor to collect voter registration and history files from all 50 states annually for ICE fraud detection

Event: August 25, 2026 Location: Washington, D.C. Jurisdiction: Federal Abuses: Improper collection or dissemination of personal data

On August 25, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a request for information — the first step in a federal contracting process — seeking a third-party contractor to collect voter registration files and, where available, public voter history files from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories on an annual basis. DHS said the data would support "fraud detection and data segmentation" operations run by Homeland Security Investigations, ICE's investigative arm, that the effort would start with a limited number of jurisdictions but could expand, and that no contract has yet been awarded. The RFI follows a July 2026 White House speech in which President Trump alleged foreign interference in state voter data and comes amid a broader administration campaign to compel and cross-reference state voter rolls.

People & Organizations: - U.S. Department of Homeland Security#2f9bd708 (DHS)

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/08/25/federal-improper-collection-or-dissemination-of-personal-data-d3193cb3/ Primary source: DHS bids to vacuum up voter registration, history from all 50 states

Injustice Watch investigation found Illinois police and sheriffs circumvented TRUST Act to help ICE detain, deport immigrants

Event: August 25, 2026 Location: Illinois Jurisdiction: Illinois Abuses: Ignoring statutory requirements, Targeting marginalized communities, Improper collection or dissemination of personal data

Injustice Watch, in partnership with The Intercept, reported on 2026-08-25 that despite Illinois' 2017 TRUST Act barring local law enforcement from assisting federal immigration enforcement, officials at more than 75 agencies across over a third of the state's counties collaborated with the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, ICE, and the U.S. Marshals Service during Trump's first 15 months back in office. The investigation, drawing on body-worn camera footage, nearly 400 records requests, and court filings, found the collaboration -- direct data-sharing, jail-to-ICE handovers, and at least one FBI-coached arrest workaround -- helped flag, detain, or deport at least 150 people.

People & Organizations: - Illinois police departments and sheriff's offices (TRUST Act circumvention) - Federal Bureau of Investigation#2045036f - Homeland Security Investigations#efb9a7c7 - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement#5ac0f506 - U.S. Marshals Service

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/08/25/il-ignoring-statutory-requirements-9c8cba52/ Primary source: Illinois promised to protect immigrants. Local officials helped deport them anyway.

Injustice Watch/WIRED investigation found Illinois state's attorneys shared residents' personal data with ICE despite TRUST Act

Event: August 25, 2026 Location: Illinois Jurisdiction: Illinois Abuses: Improper collection or dissemination of personal data, Ignoring statutory requirements

An Injustice Watch investigation published August 25, 2026, in partnership with WIRED, found that state's attorneys' offices in roughly 1 in 6 Illinois counties shared residents' dates of birth, home addresses, court dates, and jail-release schedules with federal immigration agents despite the state's 2017 TRUST Act. In one documented case, a Marion County assistant state's attorney emailed a Homeland Security Investigations agent a defendant's birthdate, upcoming court date, and home address; federal agents arrested the man and detained his 17-year-old son outside their home three weeks later. State's attorneys disputed among themselves whether the TRUST Act binds their offices, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul declined to resolve the question.

People & Organizations: - Illinois county state's attorneys' offices - Homeland Security Investigations#efb9a7c7 (received and solicited shared data)

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/08/25/il-improper-collection-or-dissemination-of-personal-data-bac571da/ Primary source: The county prosecutors who became ICE informants

Mamdani administration continued to miss NYC's charter-mandated racial equity plan deadline, judge found

Event: August 25, 2026 Location: New York, New York Jurisdiction: New York City Abuses: Ignoring statutory requirements

On August 25, 2026, New York Supreme Court Justice Phaedra F. Perry-Bond ruled that the City of New York, under Mayor Zohran Mamdani, independently violated the city's 2022 voter-approved Charter mandate for a final citywide racial equity plan by continuing to miss the deadline his predecessor, Eric Adams, had also missed. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the Commission on Racial Equity, the charter-mandated oversight body, after the Adams administration's law department had denied CORE's request to retain outside counsel; Perry-Bond granted CORE that authority and preserved its ability to sue over any future delay. Mamdani's administration released a draft plan in April 2026 but had not issued a final plan as of the ruling.

People & Organizations: - City of New York - Zohran Mamdani (Mayor)

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/08/25/local-ignoring-statutory-requirements-cd5d0281/ Primary source: NYC's racial equity plan was years late. A judge says Mamdani, Adams broke the law.

Nevada Independent investigation revealed Clark County School District police tapped into Flock license-plate-reader network

Event: August 25, 2026 Location: Clark County, Nevada Jurisdiction: Clark County School District Abuses: Improper collection or dissemination of personal data

A Nevada Independent investigation revealed on August 25, 2026 that the Clark County School District (CCSD) Police Department in Nevada has an agreement, confirmed on the record by the district, with license-plate-reader company Flock Safety granting access to "all shared cameras within Clark County and the Las Vegas area." A procedural memo restricting that access to CCSD's Investigations Bureau, requiring an assigned case number and bureau-commander authorization, took effect the same day the district received the outlet's public-records request; the underlying agreement's start date and duration are not established in public records, though CCSD had been negotiating with Flock since at least February 2025 and logged roughly 70 searches that year. No other Nevada school district has been reported to have a comparable arrangement.

People & Organizations: - Clark County School District Police Department

Read the full entry: https://standingrecord.com/entries/2026/08/25/local-improper-collection-or-dissemination-of-personal-data-440d533b/ Primary source: Clark County School District has tapped into Flock license plate reader cameras

Filling out the archive

We're steadily backfilling the archive — working backward through the record so the timeline is complete, not just current. These are older events we archived yesterday. If you know of something from months or years back that belongs here, send it to our tip line.

• January 26, 2026 — Trump announced DOJ and Congress were investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar's finances amid Minnesota fraud scandal
• March 26, 2026 — South Dakota Gov. Rhoden signed SB 175 requiring proof of citizenship for new voter registrations
• May 28, 2026 — Avenal, California Mayor Alvaro Preciado and recalled council members continued governing after certified recall vacated their seats
• August 3, 2026 — OPM finalized rule ending independent MSPB, Federal Circuit review of suitability firings for ~1M workers
• August 21, 2026 — DOJ attached immigration-enforcement conditions to FY2026 law-enforcement and juvenile-justice grants, lawsuit alleges
• August 24, 2026 — AP investigation revealed State Department preparing to revoke B1/B2 visas of up to 200,000 asylum seekers
• August 24, 2026 — Idaho Education News investigation reveals Idaho Tax Commission withheld tax-credit recipient data despite months of records requests

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