US President Trump has signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to compile citizenship data for every US state, with the focus on preventing noncitizens from voting in federal elections, according to the New York Times. Here’s a clear breakdown of what this move involves, from a practical and international perspective.
Trump says the move will help protect the election
In March, Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security to create citizenship lists for every state. “I think this will help a lot with elections,” Trump said before signing the order.
The president has repeatedly claimed that noncitizens’ voting is a major issue in the United States, even though cases of it remain extremely rare, and his own administration has not provided proof of large-scale voter fraud involving noncitizens.
This is also not Trump’s first attempt to bring citizenship records into election systems. During his first term, he pushed to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. More recently, he backed a voter ID bill that would have required states to use federal databases to identify noncitizens, though that bill is currently stalled in the Senate.
The US does not have one single citizenship database
One of the biggest hurdles is that America has never maintained a central citizenship registry. Unlike countries that issue national identity cards, the US relies on different records to prove citizenship. Passports can be used as proof, but only around 54 percent of Americans have them.
Social Security cards are also not enough because noncitizens can legally have them as well. Naturalised citizens do not have US birth certificates, and according to the National Archives, there is no central index for naturalisation records either.
Trump’s order says the proposed lists would be created using citizenship records, naturalisation records, Social Security data and other federal databases.
Even Trump’s lawyers admit the lists may not be accurate
During a recent hearing in Federal District Court in Washington, lawyers challenging the order argued that any citizenship lists created by the government would, in a blink, become outdated. People move states, gain citizenship, die or change their information regularly, making it difficult to maintain an accurate database.
An administration lawyer admitted in court that “no list is ever going to be perfect.” The Justice Department also acknowledged that the lists would likely be unreliable when it comes to determining voter eligibility.
Privacy concerns are becoming a major issue
The proposal is also facing legal scrutiny over privacy laws. Under the Privacy Act of 1974, federal agencies are generally not allowed to share personal records with other agencies unless the person involved gives written consent.
There are some exceptions for legal law enforcement activities, but lawyers opposing Trump’s order argued that building such large citizenship databases could still violate privacy protections.
Judge Carl J. Nichols, who is hearing the case, said it is too early to determine whether the government would break privacy laws, according to the New York Times. Meanwhile, Justice Department lawyers admitted the administration has not yet fully decided how the executive order would actually be implemented.
Critics fear mistakes could affect both citizens and immigrants
Voting rights groups and Democratic-led states have sued to block the executive order, arguing that the Constitution does not clearly give the executive branch authority over elections.
Critics also worry that flawed databases could wrongly target both citizens and noncitizens. Speaking to the New York Times, David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, warned about the dangers of relying too heavily on inaccurate government databases. “Absolutely, it’s an abuse when it comes to our rights,” Bier said. “If it’s contingent on the accuracy of a database, then automatically you end up with problems.”
Trump’s citizenship-list push also comes alongside broader efforts by his administration to challenge existing citizenship rules. On his first day back in office, he signed an order aimed at changing the long-standing interpretation of birthright citizenship, a matter now pending before the Supreme Court. His administration is also trying to strip citizenship from hundreds of naturalised Americans.