Overview
- Judge T. Kent Wetherell II ordered on Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security reinstate SAVE bulk-upload and Social Security number search functions for Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana to verify citizenship and immigration status.
- The ruling directly conflicts with a June decision by D.C. Judge Sparkle Sooknanan that barred the SAVE enhancements nationwide for violating the Social Security Act, the Privacy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
- Wetherell said he was enforcing a 2025 court-approved settlement that required DHS to modernize SAVE and integrate Social Security Administration data, and he found the Privacy Act’s routine-use exception and federal immigration law authorize the data sharing.
- The two opposing orders create immediate operational uncertainty for DHS, which Wetherell acknowledged is “in a bind,” and he ordered the department to report on compliance and related proceedings by July 14.
- Privacy and accuracy concerns remain central to the dispute because critics say SAVE relies on records that can be outdated or error-prone, the issue is on appeal to the D.C. Circuit, and the outcome could shape how federal identity and citizenship data are shared with states.