Florida sues Biden-Harris admin for allegedly hindering removal of noncitizens from voter rolls: ‘Dismantle the barriers’
Florida and its Department of State filed a lawsuit this week against the Biden-Harris administration, claiming it is hindering the state from removing noncitizens from its voter rolls.
A copy of the lawsuit, obtained by Fox News Digital, notes, “Florida has an obligation to maintain accurate and current voter registration records,” and the “federal government has an obligation to cooperate with the States in ensuring only citizens vote in their elections.”
‘The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls.’
However, according to the state, the Biden-Harris administration “is refusing to comply with these obligations and frustrating Florida’s ability to maintain the integrity of its elections.”
The complaint added that Florida is incapable of tracking voters’ citizenship status on its own and, therefore, requires the federal government’s assistance, particularly from the Department of Homeland Security.
To track immigration and citizenship status, the DHS, through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, established the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, an online verification service.
According to the lawsuit, the online service should be available to states upon request. However, the suit claims that “the federal government refused to make the SAVE program available” to Florida, which aims to use it to protect election integrity.
Following a 2012 lawsuit, the Florida Department of State and the DHS “entered into a memorandum of agreement … that allowed FDOS to access the SAVE program to verify citizenship and immigration status information for persons on Florida’s voter registration rolls.”
However, in order to use the service to check on an individual’s immigration status, Florida stated that it must already have the biographic data and a unique immigration identifier belonging to that person.
The lawsuit claimed that the FDOS discovered “a number of individuals” who it had reason to believe may be noncitizens who are registered to vote. In an attempt to check on the individuals’ citizenship status, the FDOS sent a letter to USCIS requesting verification because it lacks unique immigration identifiers to access the information through the SAVE program.
According to Florida, the “USCIS denied FDOS’s request for further information about the specific individuals in question and refused to offer any means of identifying immigration status beyond the SAVE program.”
“Florida has identified a subset of individuals for whom it cannot verify citizenship or immigration status through SAVE and for whom DHS refuses to verify citizenship or immigration status through other means,” the lawsuit read.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody told Fox News Digital, “Voting is a right granted to American citizens — not illegal immigrants or other noncitizens. The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls.”
“I am taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Mayorkas to ensure Florida is able to maintain the integrity of our state’s voter rolls,” Moody added.
Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said, “Florida is calling on the federal government to dismantle the barriers blocking the states from obtaining critical information needed to prevent noncitizens from voting in our elections.”
A spokesperson for the DHS told Fox News Digital that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
The spokesperson added, “More broadly, USCIS has engaged with Florida and will continue to correspond with them directly through official channels. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers an online information service called SAVE that allows registered and authorized agencies, including election authorities in states, to verify certain individuals’ citizenship or immigration status.”
“SAVE is the most secure and efficient way to verify an individual’s citizenship or immigration status, including for verification regarding voter registration and/or voter list maintenance,” the DHS spokesperson continued. “By inputting an individual’s name, unique DHS-issued immigration identifier, and birthdate, registered agencies can determine whether that person has obtained U.S. citizenship through the naturalization process or, for certain other individuals born abroad, whether USCIS has information confirming their U.S. citizenship.”
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