Latest news with #SystematicAlienVerificationforEntitlements
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas Uses SAVE Data To Catch Noncitizen Voters
(Texas Scorecard) – After gaining access to a federal immigration and citizenship database, state officials have identified potential noncitizens who voted in Texas elections. Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced Thursday that her office has referred 33 potential noncitizens who voted in the November 2024 General Election to the state attorney general's office for investigation. Nelson said the referrals come within weeks of Texas gaining access to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' SAVE database. 'Gaining access to this database has been a game-changer,' said Nelson. 'Not only have we been able to identify individuals who should not have voted in the last election, we have also been able to confirm naturalization of dozens more.' SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) is an online service for government agencies to verify the immigration status and naturalized/acquired U.S. citizenship of applicants seeking benefits or licenses. Nelson said Texas was among the first states to log in after President Donald Trump issued an election integrity executive order in March that directed the Department of Homeland Security to provide free access to the SAVE database to all states. She added that Texas also recently joined a pilot program working with DHS, USCIS, and DOGE to improve the database's functionality. 'We are in the early stages of this pilot program, but we already see promising results. This may be the most current and accurate data set there is when it comes to citizenship verification,' said Nelson. She noted that the Secretary of State is required to report potential criminal violations to the Office of the Attorney General, which has the authority to investigate such cases under Texas election law.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Kim Reynolds signs bills on election recounts, voter citizenship verification
Gov. Kim Reynolds was joined by Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, legislators and county auditors in her office June 2, 2025 as she signed into law two bills from the 2025 legislative session related to Iowa elections. (Photo courtesy the Iowa Secretary of State's office) Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two bills related to Iowa's election laws Monday, making changes to the state's citizenship verification for voting and election recount processes. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, alongside several county auditors and some of the lawmakers who worked on the bills during the 2025 legislative session, joined Reynolds at the signing. Pate thanked Reynolds and lawmakers for moving the two measures forward in a news release Monday, saying the bills are important steps in 'strengthening and maintaining Iowa's election integrity.' 'These new laws add additional layers of integrity to our robust election procedures, supporting our efforts to balance election integrity and voter participation,' Pate said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX House File 954, signed Monday, was the bill Pate proposed to better allow his office to check the citizenship status and other eligibility requirements of those on Iowa's voter rolls. The bill gives the Secretary of State's office the ability to contract with federal and state agencies, and with private entities, for voter roll verification and maintenance, in addition to setting up a process for setting a voter's registration status as 'unconfirmed' when the state or county officials have received information from a 'reliable source' that the person is not qualified to vote. The measure came up in the wake of Pate's guidance to county auditors shortly before the 2024 general election in November that directed the local elections officials to challenge the ballots of 2,176 voters at the polls. Pate had flagged these individuals as 'potential noncitizens' because they had, within the past 12 years, reported to the Iowa Department of Transportation or another state entity that they were noncitizens, and later registered to vote. A majority of these individuals were naturalized citizens who had the ability to vote, but Pate said the instruction was necessary because his office had been denied access by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements database to verify these people's citizenship status. USCIS later granted the Iowa office access to the database — when Pate said his office confirmed 277 of the 2,176 'potential noncitizen' voters did not have U.S. citizenship. The secretary of state said the new law will prevent similar situations from arising in the future where individuals have their votes contested at the ballot box. The bill gives tools to election officials for voter eligibility verification before Election Day, but also allows registered voters to be challenged over their citizenship status at the polls. A challenged voter would have to present precinct election officials with evidence they are qualified to vote to cast a regular ballot. If the challenge is not withdrawn, they would cast a provisional ballot. The second measure, House File 928, makes changes to Iowa's system for election recounts, including setting new limits on who can request recounts. For statewide and federal races, the election results would have to have a 0.15% difference in votes between candidates for a candidate to request a recount. For state legislative and local races, a difference of 1% or 50 votes would be required. This would stop recounts in future elections similar to those requested in recent elections, like the 2024 election recount for the race between U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Christina Bohannan, that was within 0.2%. The measure would also make changes to election recount boards. Under the previous system, each candidate in a recount designates one person to serve on the board, alongside a third person agreed upon by both candidates. The new law has county auditors lead election recount boards with their staff and hired election workers, adding the requirement that boards must have an equal numbers of workers from each political party. Candidates can choose up to five people to observe the recount process in each county. While some Democrats said this new system could lead to Iowans questioning election integrity because of conflicts of interest with county auditors, Republican supporters argued the change will lead to more uniform and fair election recounts. Rep. Austin Harris, R-Moulton, who led the bill in the House, said in a news release the recount bill was 'one of the most important pieces of legislation we've passed this year.' 'We have seen in years past where the old system was used, abused, and manipulated by campaigns to try to 'fix the outcome' for their preferred candidate,' Harris said in a statement. 'Now we have a system that brings uniformity, consistency, and most importantly, trust to that system.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Business Mayor
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Business Mayor
USCIS Deploys Common Sense Tools to Verify Voters
State and local governments now have more capabilities in USCIS' SAVE program WASHINGTON –U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to ensure a single, reliable source for verifying immigration status and U.S. citizenship nationwide. State and local authorities can input Social Security numbers to help verify U.S. citizenship and prevent aliens from voting in American elections. 'For years, states have pleaded for tools to help identify and stop aliens from hijacking our elections,' said USCIS Spokesman Matthew Tragesser. 'Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Noem, USCIS is moving quickly to eliminate voter fraud. We expect further improvements soon and remain committed to restoring trust in American elections.' This new partnership with the Social Security Administration allows cases to verify citizenship or immigration status to be created using Social Security numbers rather than a DHS identifying number, which most state and local agencies do not collect. Also, for the first time, agencies can submit more than one case at a time, making the process more efficient. This advancement comes shortly after the DHS, USCIS, and DOGE SAVE optimization announcement and builds on efforts to remove roadblocks to securing the country's election process by working to eliminate voter fraud. SAVE, a critical tool for verifying lawful U.S. citizenship and immigration status operated by USCIS, provides federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local agencies with U.S. citizenship and immigration status information to help ensure the eligibility of individuals applying for certain public benefits and licenses, including voter eligibility verification. Read More Asylum seekers find refuge in volunteers where the US has failed All state and local governments are encouraged to register to use SAVE for lawful voter eligibility verification. Effective April 1, 2025, USCIS eliminated all charges for state, local, tribal, and territorial government agencies to use the service. States interested in participating in the SAVE program can learn more and register. READ SOURCE
New York Post
26-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump admin demands crackdown on illegal immigrants' use of taxpayer-funded food stamps
The United States Department of Agriculture is demanding that states ensure illegal immigrants are not using food stamps. The department wants states to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order from February that seeks improved methods to check that those in the country illegally do not receive federal benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Advertisement The measure is meant to crack down on fraud and serve as a safeguard because illegal immigrants are already not allowed to use SNAP benefits. Only citizens and some legal noncitizens can do so. 'We've already made arrests in Minnesota and New York and Colorado, and we're just getting started,' Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News Digital in an interview. 'We're going to be extremely, extremely aggressive. Now, hopefully it acts as a deterrent also.' The USDA is asking states to cross-check Social Security numbers with a death master file and to use the free Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system provided by the Department of Homeland Security for noncitizens applying for the benefits, among other steps to verify immigration status. Advertisement 3 The United States Department of Agriculture is demanding that states ensure illegal immigrants are not using food stamps. AP 3 Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently asked the USDA to allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soda with SNAP benefits, while adding rotisserie chicken to the list of available options. Ron Sachs – CNP for NY Post Rollins said it's 'the president's vision to ensure that we're being the most efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars.' 'So, we think we'll be able to cut down on billions of fraud and save the taxpayers a lot of money,' she said. Advertisement John Walk, acting deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, wrote in a letter Thursday to state SNAP agencies, explaining the existing law. 'By law, only United States citizens and certain lawfully present aliens may receive SNAP benefits. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) established that 'aliens within the Nation's borders not depend on public resources to meet their needs.' SNAP is not and has never been available to illegal aliens,' Walk wrote. 3 'We've already made arrests in Minnesota and New York and Colorado, and we're just getting started,' Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News Digital in an interview. Getty Images The crackdown comes as there is heightened scrutiny on the eligibility of illegal immigrants for benefits, such as California's Medicaid program that allows people to enroll without their immigration status being considered, even though it's funded by state and federal taxpayer dollars. Advertisement California Republicans have said illegal immigrants' eligibility in the program is responsible for its insolvency, whereas Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said it's only a factor in a larger healthcare cost issue nationwide. 'The federal government is now paying attention a lot more closely than ever before on how the states are spending the money,' Rollins said. 'I am from Texas. I actually have a lot of confidence in the Texas system. I think the red states, honestly, are probably a little more intentional and careful about this. Of course, it's the blue states that tend to want to put everyone on the taxpayers' back. And I think that we'll find a lot more of that moving forward, but hopefully it's a deterrence for everyone.' Outside of immigration, SNAP has also faced calls for reform in several states to no longer allow the purchase of 'junk food.' Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently asked the USDA to allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soda with SNAP benefits, while adding rotisserie chicken to the list of available options. 'President Trump and his administration have put a laser focus on solving America's chronic disease epidemic, and reforming our food stamp program is a great place to start,' Sanders said in a news release April 15. 'Banning soda and candy from food stamps will remove some of the least healthy, most processed foods from the program and encourage low-income Arkansans to eat better.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration demands crackdown on illegal immigrants potentially taking advantage of key benefit
The United States Department of Agriculture is demanding that states ensure illegal immigrants are not using food stamps. The department wants states to comply with President Donald Trump's executive order from February that seeks improved methods to check that those in the country illegally do not receive federal benefits, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The measure is meant to crack down on fraud and serve as a safeguard because illegal immigrants are already not allowed to use SNAP benefits. Only citizens and some legal noncitizens can do so. "We've already made arrests in Minnesota and New York and Colorado, and we're just getting started," Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told Fox News Digital in an interview. American Farmers Have A Voice In Washington Again "We're going to be extremely, extremely aggressive. Now, hopefully it acts as a deterrent also." Read On The Fox News App The USDA is asking states to cross-check Social Security numbers with a death master file and to use the free Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system provided by the Department of Homeland Security for noncitizens applying for the benefits, among other steps to verify immigration status. Rollins said it's "the president's vision to ensure that we're being the most efficient and effective with taxpayer dollars." Snap Recipients May Be Barred From Junk Food Purchases Under New House Gop Bill "So, we think we'll be able to cut down on billions of fraud and save the taxpayers a lot of money," she said. John Walk, acting deputy under secretary for food, nutrition, and consumer services, wrote in a letter Thursday to state SNAP agencies, explaining the existing law. "By law, only United States citizens and certain lawfully present aliens may receive SNAP benefits. The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193) established that 'aliens within the Nation's borders not depend on public resources to meet their needs.' SNAP is not and has never been available to illegal aliens," Walk wrote. The crackdown comes as there is heightened scrutiny on the eligibility of illegal immigrants for benefits, such as California's Medicaid program that allows people to enroll without their immigration status being considered, even though it's funded by state and federal taxpayer dollars. California Republicans have said illegal immigrants' eligibility in the program is responsible for its insolvency, whereas Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said it's only a factor in a larger healthcare cost issue nationwide. Millions More Food Stamp Recipients Required To Work Under New House Gop Proposal "The federal government is now paying attention a lot more closely than ever before on how the states are spending the money," Rollins said. "I am from Texas. I actually have a lot of confidence in the Texas system. I think the red states, honestly, are probably a little more intentional and careful about this. Of course, it's the blue states that tend to want to put everyone on the taxpayers' back. And I think that we'll find a lot more of that moving forward, but hopefully it's a deterrence for everyone." Outside of immigration, SNAP has also faced calls for reform in several states to no longer allow the purchase of "junk food." Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders recently asked the USDA to allow the state to prohibit the purchase of candy and soda with SNAP benefits, while adding rotisserie chicken to the list of available options. "President Trump and his administration have put a laser focus on solving America's chronic disease epidemic, and reforming our food stamp program is a great place to start," Sanders said in a news release April 15. "Banning soda and candy from food stamps will remove some of the least healthy, most processed foods from the program and encourage low-income Arkansans to eat better."Original article source: Trump administration demands crackdown on illegal immigrants potentially taking advantage of key benefit
