Days before the 2024 presidential election, Iowa officials allege the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) declined the state’s request for a list of noncitizens registered to vote despite “having confirmed that hundreds of noncitizens were on Iowa’s voter rolls after a manual individualized process.”
As a result, Iowa relied on a list of 2,176 individuals who had self-identified as noncitizens, and required they provide proof of citizenship or provisional ballots to address eligibility concerns.
The lawsuit centers on the SAVE program, a federally mandated system established in 1986 and used by nearly 1,200 agencies to verify immigration or citizenship status.
A DHS spokesperson declined to comment on the litigation to The Epoch Times but defended the SAVE program’s functionality as the most secure and efficient tool for such purposes.
“More broadly, USCIS has engaged with Iowa and will continue to correspond with them directly through official channels,” a DHS spokesperson said via email.
“USCIS administers an online information service called SAVE that allows registered and authorized agencies, including election authorities in states, to verify certain individuals’ citizenship or immigration status.”
The program allows agencies to verify an individual’s naturalization or citizenship status by inputting their name, DHS-issued identifier, and birth date. However, SAVE cannot access birth certificate databases and is unable to verify the citizenship of individuals born in the United States or certain individuals born abroad.
In its defense of SAVE, DHS noted the program performed more than 21.5 million verifications in fiscal year 2023, demonstrating its widespread use.
Iowa argues these limitations hinder efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls, a critical component of election integrity. Federal law prohibits noncitizens from registering or voting in federal elections, with violators subject to removal and up to five years in prison.
DHS clarified that states must sign a memorandum of agreement to access SAVE for voter registration purposes.
The agreement requires states to notify applicants and voters in writing that their citizenship may be verified against federal records. Additionally, anyone flagged by SAVE as a noncitizen must be given the opportunity to provide documentation proving their citizenship.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said the federal government “knows who the hundreds of noncitizens are on our voter rolls and has repeatedly refused to tell us who they are.”
“But the law is clear: voters must be American citizens. Together, with the Secretary of State, we will fight to maintain safe and secure elections,” Bird said in a Dec. 3 press release.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate echoed similar concerns, emphasizing the need for reforms.
“The role of Iowa Secretary of State requires balance between participation and integrity. We have identified solutions that will allow us to verify voter eligibility at registration—not at the time of voting,” he said.
“The combination of access to the SAVE list, citizenship verification already completed by USCIS, and the ability to verify using social security numbers will not only make processes more efficient but will also provide another important tool in our toolbox to safeguard our elections process.”
