Department of Homeland Security must resume four states’ access to federal citizenship database

A federal judge in Florida ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to restore bulk‑search access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database for Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Indiana. The ruling by Judge T. Kent Wetherell II relies on a settlement the Trump administration reached with the states, allowing the use of Social Security numbers to verify citizenship for voter‑roll and licensing purposes.

The decision directly conflicts with a prior order from Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan in Washington, D.C., which prohibited the repurposing of the SAVE system for election‑related checks, citing privacy concerns and the risk of disenfranchising voters. The two contradictory orders place DHS in a legal bind about whether to comply with the settlement or the nationwide injunction.

The Florida case was brought by the state attorney general, joined by the attorneys general of Ohio, Iowa and Indiana, arguing that states need the data to remove non‑citizens from voter rolls. The Biden‑era Justice Department had agreed to the settlement, binding the agency to the states’ requests for up to 20 years. The outcome may prompt further judicial review to resolve the split between the two courts.