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throughline No. 088 July 17, 2026

Florida Judge Orders DHS To Restore Citizenship Database For Four States

Two district courts issued contradictory orders on the same federal database, forcing DHS into a technical workaround that restores bulk and SSN search only for the four settlement states while the features stay disabled everywhere else.

Two district courts issued contradictory orders on the same federal database, forcing DHS into a technical workaround that restores bulk and SSN search only for the four settlement states while the features stay disabled everywhere else.

On July 13 DHS restored bulk-upload and SSN-search features of the SAVE system for Florida, Ohio, Iowa and Indiana after a July 7 federal order enforced a 20-year settlement.

Why it matters: States use the restored features to verify citizenship on voter rolls and professional licenses; the conflict determines whether non-citizens remain on the rolls that decide ballots and household representation.

Date to watch: July 20 D.C. hearing on whether the four-state carve-out violates the nationwide vacatur

Sources:

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