by WorldTribune Staff, July 9, 2026 Non-AI Real World News
A federal judge in Florida on Tuesday ordered the restoration of features of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) voter integrity system that had been blocked in June by U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan in Washington, DC.
The case centers on DHS’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, which includes Social Security number search and bulk-upload capabilities that states use to verify citizenship and immigration status for voter rolls.
U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II ruled that DHS breached a court-approved settlement agreement with Florida and other states by disabling the features following a conflicting decision in June from Sooknanan.
Related: Foreign-born federal judge blocks key election security policies, protects Media Matters, June 23, 2026
Sooknanan had vacated the SAVE modifications, finding they violated the Social Security Act and Privacy Act by improperly aggregating and using Americans’ personal data, including Social Security numbers.
After DHS complied with Sookanan’s ruling and disabled the features, Florida and other states field an emergency motion to reinstate the features.
The states argued that the disabled features have caused immediate harm, including Florida and Ohio’s inability to verify voter citizenship and Iowa’s challenges with professional licensing. Wetherell declined to defer to the D.C. proceedings, citing ongoing harm to the plaintiffs and principles of comity.
Wetherell ruled the features do not violate federal law.
Wetherell, who approved the November 2025 settlement and retained jurisdiction to enforce it, held that DHS must restore the capabilities required under the agreement. The settlement stemmed from a lawsuit by Florida and later-added states alleging the SAVE system was inadequate for verifying immigration status as required by federal law.
“Defendants are plainly in violation of the settlement agreement,” Wetherell wrote, noting the features had been operational from December 2025 until June. He rejected arguments that compliance with the D.C. order excused the breach, stating his court had implicitly determined the modifications were lawful when approving the deal.
The judge also addressed the legal disputes directly, concluding the Social Security number search functions align with 8 U.S.C. §1373, which overrides other restrictions on sharing citizenship or immigration status information, and fall within Privacy Act exceptions for routine uses.
The SAVE system, long used to verify immigration status for federal benefits, was enhanced under the Trump Administration to better support state election integrity efforts, including voter roll maintenance.
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Federal judge overrules Judge Sparkle Sooknanan who shut down alien verification system added by Editor Two on
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