Judge strikes down Trump administration database of Social Security numbers, citizenship status
The ruling says federal agencies violated privacy law by pooling Social Security and citizenship data into a centralized tool states used to question voter eligibility.
- On Monday, June 22, 2026, District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan blocked Trump from building a database of Americans' sensitive information, granting an injunction to halt the bulk data-pooling system.
- Previously designed to verify immigration status, the Department of Homeland Security's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements system was radically expanded into an interagency "data lake" linking Social Security Administration records.
- Judge Sooknanan ruled Trump implemented these changes "in secret," violating the Administrative Procedure Act and the Privacy Act by failing to provide public notice or assess privacy risks.
- This ruling removes a key mechanism for voter roll maintenance ahead of the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, where control of the House and Senate is at stake.
- Plaintiffs including the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the League of Women Voters celebrated, with EPIC Deputy Director and Director of Enforcement John Davisson saying the decision "safeguarded not only our privacy rights but also the bedrock of our democracy: the right to vote.
128 Articles
128 Articles
Trump's Midterm Election Rigging Scheme Handed Big Loss
The Trump administration has tried to rig the midterm election with schemes that go way beyond gerrymandering. At the heart of all the president’s plans are various illegal executive orders that he signed, all related to voting. PoliticusUSA’s news and opinions are 100% independent. Support us by becoming a subscriber.Subscribe nowOne of those executive orders required the Social Security Administration to turn over personal information so a dat…
'Knowingly Trampled': Judge Blocks Trump's Plan to Use Immigration Database for Midterm Voter Purges
A federal judge has halted US President Donald Trump's plan to use a revamped immigration database to check voter eligibility ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, delivering a major setback to the administration's election agenda. US District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan's ruling prevents the Trump administration from relying on the updated system, which critics say risks wrongly purging eligible voters from the rolls. Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Pl…
Judge orders DHS to stop states from searching voter citizenship records | Honolulu Star-Advertiser
WASHINGTON >> A federal judge today barred the Trump administration from letting states query a centralized national database of citizens built for checking immigration status to screen their voter rolls, finding that the repurposing of the federal data to monitor voting violated at least three laws.
Judge deals blow to Trump push for federal role in elections ahead of midterms
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from using the revamped SAVE immigration database to check state voter rolls. The ruling says the overhaul threatens voter privacy and could wrongly disenfranchise eligible citizens.
States Can’t Use SAVE to Check Voter Citizenship, Judge Rules
A federal database used by Mississippi for voter citizenship verification is unlawful and cannot be used in its current form due to changes President Donald Trump made, a federal judge ruled on Monday. The post States Can’t Use SAVE to Check Voter Citizenship, Judge Rules appeared first on Mississippi Free Press.
Trump ‘trampled’ voter privacy by feeding info to Homeland Security, judge says
Voting at the Portland Expo in Maine’s June 9, 2026 primary election. (Photo by Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) The Trump administration illegally overhauled a U.S. Department of Homeland Security computer program in its hunt for noncitizen voters, a judge ruled Monday in a stinging decision that laid into federal officials for violating the privacy of millions of Americans. The ruling struck at the core of President Donald Trump’s project to ass…
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