National Nurses United's Puneet Maharaj says Trump cannot hold power without illegally suppressing the vote through harassment, intimidation and detention
National Nurses UnitedPuneet Maharaj, executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, in an NNU press release
In the union's statement on the injunction, executive director Puneet Maharaj says many people are suffering under what he calls Trump's corrupt and cruel policies on behalf of the billionaire class, and that Trump knows he cannot hold onto power in the coming elections without illegally suppressing the vote through harassment, intimidation and even detention.
“So many people in the United States are suffering under Trump’s corrupt and cruel policies on behalf of the billionaire class that he knows cannot hold onto power in these upcoming elections without illegally suppressing our vote through outright harassment, intimidation, and even detention”
Official statement
Where this statement fits
Judge halts DHS voter-eligibility field interviews of likely citizens in nine states; DHS says it pursues noncitizens who vote
On October 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín granted a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from election-related field operations and interviews in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Missouri, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin that involve people agents know or should suspect are U.S. citizens. The order runs until polls close on November 3. National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, which sued with San Francisco, Santa Clara County and Voto Latino Foundation, say the investigations intimidate voters. DHS says it is focused on removing noncitizens who vote and has no plans to question or investigate people it believes are citizens.
Source and context
Official statement
About this source
National Nurses United press release of October 22, 2026, on the preliminary injunction. It quotes executive director Puneet Maharaj and lists Protect Democracy and the National Immigration Law Center among the groups that worked on the suit.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
National Nurses United issued this statement on October 22, the day after the injunction. The release says the order stops the Trump administration in nine states from using DHS to harass and intimidate voters by having armed agents go door to door to question their eligibility to vote, and that some union nurses changed their voting plans because they felt targeted.
After the quotation
Maharaj adds that nurses fight for their patients and for a healthy democracy, and that each person's right to a voice and a vote follows from respect for human dignity. The release lists Protect Democracy and the National Immigration Law Center among the groups that worked on the suit.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to DHS's election-related field investigations in the nine states, the union's statement treats the program as part of an effort to suppress votes through harassment and intimidation, and welcomes the order that blocks it.
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The Dispute Index. "National Nurses United's Puneet Maharaj says Trump cannot hold power without illegally suppressing the vote through harassment, intimidation and detention". First published: 2026-10-30. Last updated: 2026-10-30. https://disputeindex.com/events/7320-in-the-union-s-statement-on-the-injunction