Supreme Court greenlights citizenship verification via federal database
The Trump administration garnered a win on Friday as the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion that lifts a lower court order that had kept the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from utilizing a federal database to verify citizenship.
by Summer Lane | September 25, 2026
The Trump administration will be able to go ahead with using government data to verify citizenship as it attempts to secure the U.S. election systems, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided.
In the opinion released Friday, the majority stayed a lower court order, allowing the Department of Homeland Security’s federal citizenship database (SAVE: Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) to be used to help verify voters’ citizenship status.
“Yes, you read that right,” DHS General Counsel James Percival said in a statement posted to X. “We had to file an emergency petition in the Supreme Court just so we could use government data to help states stop noncitizens from illegally voting.”
“To be sure, that moratorium limits the potential impact of staying the District Court’s order in this case,” the majority wrote. “Still, all agree that the order prevents the Federal Government from using the modified SAVE program to conduct individualized inquiries, which are permitted under federal law during this period. The District Court’s order thus inhibits the Federal Government’s efforts to assist state and local agencies in the proper administration of the midterm elections. Under these circumstances, the equities weigh in favor of a stay.”
This ruling comes with less than 40 days until the 2026 midterm elections. It’s unclear how the DHS will utilize the verification system with such a limited window before Election Day. Additionally, the National Voter Registration Act prohibits states from purging voter rolls within 90 days of an impending election, so it seems unlikely that this ruling will have an affect until the next election cycle.
“…The modified SAVE system allows state and local officials to conduct citizenship verification of registered voters to keep aliens from voting,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Friday. “The Justice Department will continue fighting in court for secure elections. Every American should want this!”
Election integrity and voting advocate Scott Presler called the decision a “HUGE win for the American people” as the nation looks ahead to the November elections.
Photo: Adobe Stock
