A federal judge appointed by former President Joe Biden has blocked a Trump administration election integrity initiative that sought to verify voter citizenship through a federal database tied to Social Security records, setting up another high-profile clash over election security and voter privacy.
Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and now serves on the federal bench after her nomination by Biden, ruled against the Department of Homeland Security's effort to expand the use of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, commonly known as SAVE. The administration's proposal would have allowed election officials to access a searchable citizenship verification system connected to Social Security Administration data in an effort to confirm whether individuals registering to vote were U.S. citizens.
BREAKING: Biden-appointed judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago, just BLOCKED the Trump admin from using a social security database system to verify voter eligibility.
We have foreign judges telling us we can’t secure our elections
What are we even doing? pic.twitter.com/qdyj98Dlvp
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) June 22, 2026
Supporters of the policy argued that the system would strengthen election integrity by providing a more reliable method for verifying citizenship status during the voter registration process. The Trump administration viewed the proposal as part of a broader effort to tighten election safeguards and prevent non-citizens from appearing on voter rolls.
Sooknanan saw the matter differently.
In her ruling, the judge concluded that the proposed database arrangement raised serious privacy concerns for American citizens. She argued that the government had crossed a line by creating a mechanism that would allow personal information to be searched in ways she believed threatened constitutional protections.
🚨 BREAKING: Foreign-born Biden judge Sparkle Sooknanan (yeah, that's her actual name) has just BARRED the Trump admin from checking citizenship data for voters, per AP
Democrats are TERRIFIED about illegals no longer being able to vote
The federal government was using a… pic.twitter.com/iYePOiENN8
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 22, 2026
"All in all, the federal government has knowingly trampled on the privacy rights of American citizens in a manner that threatens the sacred right to vote," Sooknanan wrote. "This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens."
The decision immediately drew criticism from Trump administration officials and supporters who viewed the ruling as another judicial roadblock to election security reforms.
🚨 Judge Sparkle Sooknanan has struck down the Trump administration's expanded SAVE voter-verification system, ruling that federal agencies unlawfully created a centralized database containing Social Security and citizenship data to facilitate mass voter verification. pic.twitter.com/t9aGZYvfos
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) June 22, 2026
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller responded sharply on social media, mocking the ruling and the judge's position.
"Judge Sparkle decrees that America belongs to any random alien on planet earth, just like our founders intended," Miller wrote.
The ruling adds to Sooknanan's growing record of decisions involving Trump administration immigration and election-related policies. In September 2025, she ruled against a separate administration effort involving the removal of Guatemalan illegal aliens, another decision that attracted significant political attention.
Judge Sparkle decrees that America belongs to any random alien on planet earth, just like our founders intended. https://t.co/X8guI1Xrt6
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 22, 2026
Sooknanan's path to the federal bench was closely watched in Washington. President Biden nominated her in February 2024, and the Senate ultimately confirmed her later that year by a narrow 50-48 vote.