The Trump administration is unrolling a new initiative Thursday that will help prevent noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections, a high-priority policy for the White House.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program and partnering with the Social Security Administration in order to ensure “a single, reliable source for verifying immigration status and U.S. citizenship,” according to a memo exclusively shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation. Under the update, state and local officials will be able to input Social Security numbers for verification of U.S. citizenship and thereby prevent foreign nationals from voting in American elections.
“For years, states have pleaded for tools to help identify and stop aliens from hijacking our elections,” USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in a statement provided to the DCNF.
“Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, USCIS is moving quickly to eliminate voter fraud,” Tragesser continued. “We expect further improvements soon and remain committed to restoring trust in American elections.”
SAVE, an online service administered by USCIS, allows various government agencies to verify the immigration status or U.S. naturalization of applicants seeking benefits or licenses.
The new partnership allows government agencies to create cases in SAVE using an applicant’s Social Security number rather than a Department of Homeland Security identifying number, which is not collected by a majority of state and local agencies, according to a separate news release. Additionally, agencies for the first time will be able to submit more than one case at a time, streamlining the process.
Polling indicates that basic voter protection regulations, such as requiring a photo ID to vote and providing proof of citizenship when registering to vote for the first time, are incredibly popular among Americans.
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