President Donald Trump’s administration is rolling out major upgrades to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, aiming to protect the integrity of U.S. elections by preventing non-citizens from registering or voting in federal contests. The move reflects a growing effort by Trump’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to secure the electoral process for American citizens only.
On Monday, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow announced a key reform: states will now be able to verify voter eligibility using only the last four digits of a Social Security number, streamlining what was previously a more burdensome process requiring all nine digits. This change is designed to encourage more states to participate in the SAVE program.
“USCIS remains dedicated to eliminating barriers to securing the nation’s electoral process,” a spokesman for the agency said. “By allowing states to efficiently verify voter eligibility, we are reinforcing the principle that America’s elections are reserved exclusively for American citizens.”
The Trump administration has long argued that non-citizen voting undermines the democratic process and threatens electoral integrity. The Department of Government Efficiency previously reported uncovering thousands of instances of non-citizens registered to vote—and even casting ballots—in states with less stringent voter verification standards.
“We looked at voter rolls and we found that thousands are registered to vote in friendly states,” said former DOGE official Antonio Gracias. “And we looked even further in those friendly states and found that many of those people had actually voted. It was shocking.”
Despite the findings, only 26 states currently use the SAVE program to verify their voter rolls. The administration is urging more states to adopt the program, particularly ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, as concerns over election security and foreign interference remain front and center.
