The federal government has improved its ability to identify U.S. citizens versus the total population by increasing inter-agency data sharing and updating existing databases, most notably the USCIS Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database. These efforts follow federal initiatives that have pushed for greater access to citizenship data, which has sparked debates over data accuracy, privacy, and the purpose of collecting citizenship information.
New developments in
citizenship data collection
Several federal initiatives
are seeking to improve the quality of citizenship data:
- Expansion of the SAVE database: In
May 2025, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) overhauled the
SAVE database, expanding its capabilities to verify citizenship beyond its
original purpose of checking immigration status for benefits programs. The
updated system now allows state election officials to verify the
citizenship of voter registrants by cross-referencing information with
other federal databases, including some Social Security Administration
(SSA) records.
- Executive orders on data sharing: A
series of executive orders in 2025 has directed agencies to expand
inter-agency data sharing to confirm citizenship and immigration status.
This includes Executive Order 14160, aimed at preserving the value of American
citizenship, and an order to promote agency data sharing. Following these
orders, the SSA issued guidance in July 2025 requiring additional proof of
citizenship beyond a birth certificate for those born after the order took
effect.
- Efforts to bypass Census questions: Following a 2019 Supreme Court decision that blocked the addition of a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, a 2019 executive order and subsequent administrative efforts sought to build a comprehensive citizenship dataset using existing federal and state administrative records.
U.S. federal data has historically had difficulty distinguishing between the total population and the citizen population, with different collection methods leading to inaccuracies. Federal data improvement efforts, particularly the overhaul of the SAVE database by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), aim to address these issues and create a more reliable national system for verifying citizenship.
Challenges in data collection
- Decennial Census: The census counts
"all persons," including non-citizens, for purposes of
congressional apportionment, not just citizens. Politicized efforts to add
a citizenship question have been blocked by the Supreme Court, as experts
warned it would likely cause non-citizens to be undercounted.
- American Community Survey (ACS): The
ACS, a Census Bureau survey, asks about citizenship status, but has known
inaccuracies. Studies show non-citizens sometimes misreport their status,
and some households with non-citizens have lower response rates, affecting
overall data quality.
- Administrative data limitations: Comparisons between survey data and administrative records have revealed significant person-level discrepancies, with millions of U.S. citizens potentially being misidentified. Inaccurate or incomplete information from independent sources, like state motor vehicle records, also contributes to data quality issues.
Recent federal data
improvement initiatives
The federal government has undertaken several initiatives to improve and link citizenship data, notably through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.
Overhaul of the SAVE database
In mid-2025, USCIS and DHS announced a major expansion of the SAVE database, traditionally used to verify the immigration status of non-citizens seeking government benefits. The enhanced system can now verify the citizenship status of U.S.-born citizens using data from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
Key features and uses:
- Broader verification: The new SAVE
tool provides a more comprehensive source for verifying citizenship and
immigration status nationwide.
- Election official access: The
expansion allows state and local election officials to cross-reference
their voter lists with the federal database to confirm voter eligibility.
- Improved efficiency: Proponents of the change argue it will streamline the verification process and eliminate the need for physical document checks.
Implementation and concerns
The expansion of SAVE was rolled out rapidly, without a public process, leading to significant alarm from privacy and election experts.
Key concerns include:
- Privacy: The creation of a de facto
national citizenship database raises questions about government use of
sensitive personal data.
- Data quality: The reliability of the
tool depends on the quality of underlying data from independent sources
like the SSA. Some data may be incomplete, especially for those born more
than 40 years ago.
- Inaccurate matching: Flawed
data-matching could lead to eligible voters being wrongly flagged, risking
disenfranchisement.
- Chilling effect: Privacy and civil rights advocates worry the effort could deter eligible voters from registering, particularly in immigrant communities.
The ongoing debate
The drive to improve
citizenship data collection remains controversial.
- Arguments for improvement often
center on ensuring election integrity and preventing fraud.
- Arguments against emphasize that
inaccurate or incomplete databases threaten the rights of eligible
citizens and could have a chilling effect on participation in government
programs and processes, including the census.
Ultimately, the issue highlights the tension between data accuracy, civil rights, and the role of the government in collecting and using personal information.
Comments
I don’t buy any “privacy rights” arguments against establishing a real-time database of US Citizens. It should end all voter fraud and enable government to be right-sized. The productivity return on this automation will reduce the cost of government and end government overspending.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
No comments:
Post a Comment