Federal Judge Sparkle Sooknanan has blocked the Trump administration from cross-referencing federal citizenship databases to remove non-citizens from voter rolls. The administration had been using the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to identify and purge suspected illegal voters from state registration lists.

The ruling halts the practice nationwide pending further legal review. Trump allies are calling for an immediate Supreme Court appeal, arguing the order prevents enforcement of citizenship requirements for voting.

Sooknanan, appointed during the Biden administration, issued the injunction following challenges from civil rights groups who argued the database checks could wrongly flag naturalized citizens and eligible voters due to data mismatches.