Federal district judges in two jurisdictions have issued conflicting rulings in recent weeks on whether the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may give states access to an expanded version of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system — which provides information about individuals' immigration and citizenship status — for voter registration and list maintenance purposes.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which runs SAVE, describes the database as providing "point in time immigration status and U.S. citizenship information to federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal agencies. SAVE is fast, secure, and reliable, and enables registered user agencies to make accurate decisions for applicants seeking benefits and licenses." USCIS is a division of DHS.
In 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order requiring DHS to make free access to "appropriate systems for verifying the citizenship or immigration status of individuals registering to vote or who are already registered" available to state and local election officials.
