Florida judge orders DHS to restore SAVE for four states

A federal judge in Florida has ordered the Department of Homeland Security to restore access to a key federal immigration database for four states, creating a direct conflict with a separate federal court order that had blocked its use nationwide. The ruling, issued on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, by U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II, requires DHS to immediately reinstate Florida, Ohio, Iowa, and Indiana's access to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system.

The order centers on a settlement agreement approved by Judge Wetherell in late 2025, which resolved a lawsuit Florida filed against DHS in 2024. That agreement required DHS to modernize the SAVE system by integrating Social Security Administration data and adding capabilities for bulk data uploads and searches using Social Security numbers. The modifications were intended to help states verify the citizenship status of individuals on voter rolls and for other government programs.

However, on June 22, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, D.C., issued a ruling that found the Trump administration's overhaul of the SAVE system likely violated federal privacy laws, including the Privacy...