Judge strikes down Trump administration database of Social Security numbers, citizenship status
The ruling says federal agencies violated privacy law by pooling Social Security and citizenship data into a centralized tool states used to question voter eligibility.
- 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.
- This ruling removes a key mechanism for voter roll maintenance ahead of the November 3, 2026, midterm elections, where control of the House and Senate is at stake.
- 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.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Judge blocks use of federal database to check citizenship, saying it could wrongly purge voters
A federal judge has ruled that a revamped federal tool that state election officials have used in their efforts to identify illegally registered noncitizen voters is unlawful and cannot be used.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Data-Sharing Program
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from moving forward with a controversial initiative that sought to consolidate sensitive personal information from multiple federal agencies into a centralized database, citing concerns over privacy protections and legal compliance./p> U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan issued an injunction halting the project after determining that federal officials had failed to follow key procedural requ…
Judge blocks Trump administration’s ‘haphazard’ voter-screening database - Regional Media News
(WASHINGTON) - A federal judge on Monday blocked a Trump administration voter-screening database, ruling that the government's "haphazard" system unlawfully consolidated "the private information of millions of Americans" in an effort to purge non-citizens from voter rolls. In her order, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan said the federal government "has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens t…
Judge says Trump can’t use Social Security data for voter roll purges
The Trump administration violated federal privacy protections when it overhauled a citizen data program so that it could be used more aggressively to purge voter rolls, a federal judge said Monday.
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