Day 614

Supreme Court Revives DHS 'SAVE' Voter-Citizenship Database Ruled Unlawful, Weeks Before the Midterms (September 2026)

On September 25, 2026, the Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency request in DHS v. League of Women Voters (No. 26A308), staying a district court ruling that had barred the Department of Homeland Security from using its overhauled SAVE system to check the citizenship of registered voters. In a June 22, 2026 decision, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan had held that DHS's merger of immigration records with Social Security Administration data violated the Social Security Act, the Privacy Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, writing that the government 'knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote.' NPR, citing the Solicitor General's filing, reported that since May 2025 the modified SAVE has checked more than 65 million voters in 26 states and flagged 28,635 as potential noncitizens; in Texas, about one in five of the 2,724 voters initially flagged were later confirmed as citizens. Justices Jackson, Sotomayor and Kagan dissented.

Hassan demands records from Wiles

Sen. Maggie Hassan writes to Chief of Staff Susie Wiles seeking records on the ad's cost, funding source and official purpose.

From: White House Airs Taxpayer-Funded Pro-Trump TV Ads on Fox News and Newsmax Ahead of the Midterms (September 2026)

Second contempt finding; return ordered

Gallagher holds DHS in contempt again, finding violations of three separate orders. She orders E.L.A. returned with his property and documents, requires at least five business days' notice and a cited legal authority before any future removal attempt, and bars execution of a removal order until USCIS decides his asylum claim or the settlement expires.

From: Judge Holds DHS in Contempt Twice for Deporting Protected Young Asylum Seekers, Including One Teen Deported to El Salvador Twice

Supreme Court revives SAVE citizenship checks

The Court stays a ruling that DHS's overhauled SAVE voter-citizenship system violated federal privacy law, allowing its use inside the pre-election quiet period (see scotus-revives-save-voter-citizenship-database).

From: Executive Order on Elections: Voter Suppression and Presidential Seizure of Election Administration

ICE posts, then removes, mortality reviews documenting medical neglect

ICE posts mortality reviews of people who died in its custody to its public records library. The American Prospect reports 33 reviews of deaths since 2019 were released and that nearly all documented significant failures of medical care. Within about four days the documents are removed; The Intercept reports that eight reviews of 2025 deaths were de-indexed and that three-quarters of those eight documented substandard medical care.

From: Record ICE Detention Deaths and Medical Care Payment Halt