Sign in Subscribe
Emigration and immigration

Secret Changes to SAVE Program Exposed: ACLU Sues Government Agencies

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has brought a lawsuit to enforce Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests made to the Social Security Administration and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding changes made to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The SAVE program, originally created to verify citizenship and immigration status, has been used for voter list maintenance. However, the details of recent changes to the program, including modifications to databases and information sharing, have been kept secret by the government. In June 2025, the ACLU submitted FOIA requests to four agencies, but no relevant information has been disclosed, prompting the lawsuit.

Key Takeaways:

  • The ACLU submitted FOIA requests on behalf of itself and journalists Anna Bower and Benjamin Wittes to four agencies: Social Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. DOGE Service, and the Department of Homeland Security.
  • The SAVE program, housed in USCIS, has been used for voter list maintenance, but recent changes to the program have been kept secret.
  • The government has failed to comply with the clear timeline for responding to FOIA requests, and no relevant information has been disclosed.
  • The SAVE program combines information about a person's immigration status, death records, and other personally identifiable information for use by states related to voter list maintenance.
  • The ACLU is suing to compel public disclosure of the changes made to the SAVE program and to provide oversight of the use of personal data.
  • The SAVE program was originally created to verify citizenship and immigration status for government benefits.

Statistics:

  • Four agencies received FOIA requests from the ACLU in June 2025: Social Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. DOGE Service, and the Department of Homeland Security.
  • No relevant information has been disclosed by the government responding to the FOIA requests.
  • The SAVE program combines information about 4 categories of data: immigration status, death records, and other personally identifiable information.

Sources:

  • American Civil Liberties Union (no date)
  • Lawfare (no date)
  • No additional sources are provided in the original text.

Read more