A federal judge in D.C. found in June that the SAVE system violated federal privacy laws and that the Department of Homeland Security had overstepped its authority.

What we found

Supports. Reuters and AP both report that Judge Sooknanan ruled on June 22, 2026 that the overhauled SAVE system violated federal privacy rights and blocked its use.[1][2]

Supports. AP reports the judge said Congress had expressly prohibited the government from centralizing the records, which supports the finding that DHS exceeded its legal authority.[2]

Supports. Ballotpedia reports the judge found the changes violated federal data privacy laws and statutes governing administrative rules and regulations, and SCOTUSblog says the ruling found violations of privacy laws and the Social Security Act.[4][5]

Context. The Supreme Court granted a stay on September 25, 2026 in a 6-3 decision, pausing the lower court order while the case proceeds; the claim describes the June finding and is not undermined by this later development.[3][6][7]

Sources

7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 not rated, 2 tier 2

1. 1Judge blocks Trump's use of revamped immigration ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
2. 2Judge blocks use of federal voter database to check ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
3. 326A308 Department of Homeland Security v. League of ...supremecourt.gov · primary source · cited for: context
4. 4Federal district judges issue conflicting rulings on states' use of expanded SAVE system for voting purposesnews.ballotpedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
5. 5Supreme Court clears way for Trump administration to use ...scotusblog.com · not rated · cited for: supports
6. 6Supreme Court allows Trump administration to use SAVE ...cbsnews.com · tier 2 · cited for: context
7. 7The Supreme Court revives a controversial data system ...npr.org · tier 2 · cited for: context

Where this claim was made

Said in 1 published post

• The NPR Politics Podcast · Sep 29, 2026“a federal judge in D.C., back in June, had found that the SAVE system had violated multiple federal laws, privacy laws, and also that DHS had overstepped by taking this step.”Post →

Related claims

• In June 2026, Judge Sukhnanan ruled for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the SAVE system.True
• A judge blocked the Social Security Administration from using the SAVE database to verify eligibility for payments on June 22.True
• The DC Circuit ruled two-to-one against the government's request for a stay in the SAVE system case.True
• The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court decision ruling that the IRS's decision to share taxpayer information with the Department of Homeland Security violates the law.True
• The Supreme Court revived the SAVE system, a Department of Homeland Security data system, allowing it to be used before the upcoming election.True