Fedral judge strikes down key SAVE act issues

Independent -   A federal judge has declared a recently updated federal tool, central to President Donald Trump’s election integrity strategy, unlawful and prohibited its continued use.  The ruling marks a significant blow to the administration's efforts to combat alleged noncitizen voting.

U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan sided with advocacy groups who argued that the revamped program, known as Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE), improperly collected sensitive personal data.

Critics warned this aggregation could lead to American citizens being wrongly removed from voter rolls.

"All in all, the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote," Judge Sooknanan stated in her order. "This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens."

She further noted that Congress had explicitly forbidden the centralization of Americans’ personal identifying information, and that the federal agencies involved were aware that the SAVE database violated these statutory protections.

The decision represents a major legal setback for President Donald Trump, who has sought to leverage federal agencies for a nationwide crackdown on noncitizens on state voter rolls.