Judge strikes down Trump administration database of Social Security numbers, citizenship status
The ruling said the revamped SAVE system violated privacy laws and wrongly flagged eligible voters, with more than 60 million records scanned.
- 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.
- 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.
323 Articles
323 Articles
Federal Judge Who Kept Foreign Citizenship Blocks America From Verifying Voters
A federal judge who admitted she would only renounce her foreign citizenship “if required by law” has now blocked the Trump administration from verifying whether voters are actually American citizens. D.C. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, a native of Trinidad and Tobago who became a U.S. citizen in 2009, issued the ruling Monday. She seemingly still retains citizenship in her home country, raising serious questions about whether foreign n…
Biden-Appointed Federal Judge Moves To Block Trump From Verifying Voter Citizenship - The American Tribune.com
On June 22, 2026, a federal judge handed down a ruling that a recently revamped version of a federal tool that is critical to the Trump administration’s efforts to protect the integrity of the U.S. election system can no longer be used. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan ruled in favor of advocacy groups that say the upgrades made to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, also known as SAVE, could result in voters being …
Biden-appointed judge halts Trump voter verification system designed to clean state rolls
A federal judge appointed by President Joe Biden blocked the Trump administration on Monday from using an updated federal database to verify the citizenship status of registered voters, a system the government built specifically to keep non-citizens off state voter rolls. U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who sits on the D.C. federal bench, issued the...
Foreign-born federal judge blocks key election security policies, protects Media Matters
by WorldTribune Staff, June 23, 2026 Non-AI Real World News A Biden-appointed federal judge from Trinidad and Tobago has shut down a database used by the Trump Administration to remove noncitizens from voter rolls. In a 75-page opinion issued on Monday by Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan wrote that the Trump team’s election integrity operation violates […]
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 43% of the sources are Center
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
