Verification of Citizenship Using Federal Data in the US

According to EFE, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced an update to the SAVE program.

The update will allow for the verification of the citizenship status of naturalized voters.

The measure aims to ensure that only U.S. citizens can register to vote.

It is part of a series of efforts promoted by President Donald Trump to tighten controls over the electoral system.

Verification of Citizenship Using Federal Data

The SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) has existed since 1987.

Until now, it has been used by state and local agencies to verify whether an immigrant qualifies for public benefits.

With the new update, SAVE will expand to include verification of the citizenship status of individuals registering to vote.

This means state and local governments will be able to check a voter’s naturalization status through the platform.

USCIS has also signed an agreement with the Social Security Administration (SSA) as part of this new process.

The agreement will allow for data-sharing between the two agencies to determine whether an individual has been naturalized as a U.S. citizen.

This type of interagency cooperation is intended to improve the accuracy of the voter verification process.

Although USCIS did not explicitly link the update to political motives, the change aligns with Donald Trump’s rhetoric.

The president has repeatedly claimed, without conclusive evidence, that voter fraud occurred in the 2020 elections.

One of his frequent allegations is that non-citizens illegally participated in the election.

To support this narrative, Trump signed an executive order requiring documentation proving citizenship in order to register for federal elections.

Florida is one of the states that has already requested use of the SAVE program to detect possible non-citizens registered to vote.