Federal Judge's Privacy Concerns Benefit Illegal Immigrants
In striking down the Trump administration's centralized citizenship database system, judge makes it harder to remove illegal immigrants on state voter rolls and in government benefit programs.
U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan of Washington, D.C., on Monday blocked the Trump administration from using a centralized database to, among other things, prevent illegal immigrants from voting in American elections.
In a 75-page ruling, Sooknanan, who was appointed by Democrat Joe Biden, said the Trump administration’s 2025 reboot of the Department of Homeland Security’s Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system violates privacy laws because it relies on Social Security numbers.
She concluded that comparing Social Security numbers with citizenship status violates privacy provisions of the Social Security Act (SSA), notice requirements under the Privacy Act, and constitutes “capricious and arbitrary” actions by federal agencies in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).
Sooknanan claimed the federal government “has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote… This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens.”
She concedes the old, pre-Trump, SAVE system permitted access to Social Security numbers but states it was “in very limited circumstances.” Additionally, she said, the old SAVE system could conduct individual searches while the new one can conduct “bulk searches.”
The Trump administration argued the plaintiffs had failed to produce evidence of actual harm to Americans in the form of voter disenfranchisement or any privacy-related injuries.
Whose Privacy?
Sooknanan’s ruling was couched in terms of protecting the privacy of Americans but it is likely to have a far greater impact on non-citizens. It eliminates the major barrier to their identification on state voting rolls.
The SAVE system is also used by states to screen for eligibility for government benefits like Medicaid and SNAP, and for meeting licensing requirements (e.g., driver’s license, federal financial aid). This will allow non-citizen fraudsters to continue operating.
