Judge Blocks Trump Administration From Using Upgraded SAVE Database

US District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan on Monday blocked the Trump administration from consulting a revamped Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database. The ruling prevents federal agencies from using the system to verify citizenship for voter rolls.

The Department of Homeland Security upgraded the SAVE system after President Trump’s March 2025 executive order. Changes included adding natural-born US citizens to the register and permitting bulk searches by name, birth date and Social Security number rather than DHS-issued identifiers.

At least 25 states have used the system to check voter rolls since April 2025, scanning at least 67 million registrations, mainly in red states.

States have removed United States citizens from rolls based on inaccurate information, the opinion said. The League of Women Voters, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and five unnamed US citizens sued DHS, the DOJ and the Social Security Administration over the changes.

The SAVE program originated under immigration law requiring DHS to help agencies prevent benefits from reaching noncitizens.

DHS General Counsel James Percival posted on X that the ruling was “just the latest example” of efforts to stop the administration from addressing alien voting. ” Sooknanan was appointed to the bench by former President Joe Biden shortly before he left office in January 2025.

Most of President Trump’s other election-related actions, including mandates for documentary proof of citizenship and restrictions on mail ballots, have been blocked by courts on grounds that the Constitution assigns election authority to states and Congress.