In March 2025, President Trump issued an executive order requiring the Social Security Administration to provide databases to the Department of Homeland Security to modify the SAVE program.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 4 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 95%
The Lawfare PodcastSep 14, 2026
The claim is supported: the Supreme Court opinion, the D.C. Circuit order, and the White House fact sheet all report that Trump's March 2025 executive order (EO 14248) directed SSA to make its databases, including its Social Security Number verification service and Death Master File, available to DHS for verifying voter citizenship, and that a modified SAVE followed.
What was said
… I can tell you the immigration status of people born in the United States: they're citizens, for the most part. But anyway, those were problems. So, in March 2025, Trump issues an executive order for the Social Security Administration to make databases available to DHS so that they can begin to help state and local authorities get these additional features with SAVE, and, in fact, a modified SAVE is created. And then the League of Women Voters and EPIC, which is the Electronic Privacy Information Center, both sue. …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The Supreme Court's opinion in DHS v. League of Women Voters states that in March 2025 President Trump signed an Executive Order directing DHS to set up systems for state and local verification of voter citizenship, and that it directed SSA to make its records available to DHS for that purpose.[2]
Supports. The D.C. Circuit order states that the March 2025 Executive Order directed SSA to make its Social Security Number 3 Verification Service, Death Master File, and other relevant federal databases available for that purpose, and that this led to the modified SAVE.[3]
Supports. The White House fact sheet from March 25, 2025 states that DHS, SSA and the State Department must provide states with access to federal databases to verify eligibility and citizenship of registrants.[4]
Supports. The district court opinion says the Executive Order triggered the SAVE overhaul, which added SSA records and Social Security numbers and allowed bulk searches.[5]
Context. The Senate letter and the Supreme Court's emergency order describe the modified SAVE as the product of that executive order and note that states' use of it is voluntary.[1][6]
Sources
6 sources: 1 fact-checker, 5 primary
- 1Supreme Court allows use of Trump's SAVE voter ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 226A308 Department of Homeland Security v. League of ...supremecourt.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 326-5243media.cadc.uscourts.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Protects ...whitehouse.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 5UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTgovinfo.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 61 September 25, 2026 The Honorable Markwayne Mullin ...hsgac.senate.gov · primary source · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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