Case Summary
LWV, LWVLA, LWVVA, Electronic Privacy Information Center, and five individuals sued the Department of Homeland Security, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Justice to protect Americans’ sensitive information from being used in violation of the Privacy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the US Constitution.
In 1974, Congress passed the Privacy Act to prevent the government from creating national data banks or a “centralized Federal information system” that would consolidate sensitive data of Americans stored at various agencies. In 1988, Congress amended the Privacy Act to prohibit “computer matching programs” that compare data across agencies unless agencies disclose it to the public and Congress. Since then, these laws have protected against data pooling across federal agencies. This has prevented the government from building a tool for surveilling and investigating Americans without checks.
However, in the first months of the second Trump Administration, multiple agencies began creating comprehensive databases of American citizens’ personal data, centralized at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). With the help of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the federal agencies’ goal is to create a linked system of databases that allows centralized investigations and analyses of millions of Americans’ sensitive personal information.
The consolidation includes transforming the US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) tool into a national citizenship data system that draws citizenship data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and allows expanded searches. SSA has admitted its citizenship data for naturalized citizens and US citizens born before 1981 is incomplete and unreliable. For example, an immigrant who is not yet a citizen can get their own SSN, but SSA marks that they are not yet a citizen. However, once they become naturalized as a citizen, SSA does not consistently automatically update their data in their own system. Because of this bad data, citizens who are legally registered voters could be purged from the voter rolls.
On September 30, 2025, the League of Women Voters (LWV), the League of Women Voters of Louisiana (LWVLA), the League of Women Voters of Virginia (LWVVA), the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), and five individuals, identified as J. Does 1-5, filed a lawsuit against DHS, DHS Secretary Noem, SSA, the SSA Commissioner Bisignano, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and Attorney General Bondi. The complaint asserted the defendants’ opaque consolidation of Americans’ personal data from multiple agencies without statutorily required notice to the public and Congress violates several laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act and the Privacy Act of 1974. It also challenged the national data consolidation as an action outside the defendants’ legal authority and in violation of the separation of powers doctrine.
The plaintiffs asked the US District Court for the District of Columbia to declare the data systems as unlawful, outside the defendants’ authority, and unconstitutional. They also requested injunctive relief to stop the defendants from: (1) operating the data system; (2) keeping the unlawfully acquired data; (3) pooling interagency records without authorization; and (4) using the data. Lastly, the plaintiffs requested an injunction requiring the defendants to publish the system of records notices in the Federal Register and disclose what data was pooled, what it was used for, and all other details for which the Privacy Act mandates disclosure.
The League plaintiffs are represented in this case by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, Democracy Forward Foundation, and the Fair Elections Center.
LWV Timeline
Plaintiffs file a complaint in federal court to protect voters’ personal data
LWV, LWVLA, LWVVA, EPIC, and five individuals file a complaint challenging the unlawful creation of a massive government database.
Plaintiffs file motion for preliminary injunction
The plaintiffs file for emergency relief asking the court to block the administration’s efforts to operate these data systems, stop the administration from moving forward with its plans during the pending case, and require deletion of unlawfully collected data.
Defendants move for stay during government shutdown
The defendants ask for the case to be paused while the government is shutdown.
District court denies motion for preliminary injunction
The court denies the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction and denies a stay of the defendants' actions under the Administrative Procedure Act. The order expresses the court's doubt on the lawfulness of the government's actions and directs the parties to propose an expedited schedule to resolve the case on the merits.
LWV files amended complaint
LWV files an amended complaint, adding the League of Women Voters of Texas (LWVTX) as a plaintiff.
LWV files motion for summary judgment
LWV and its co-plaintiffs file a motion for summary judgment, asking the court to rule in their favor based on the law and undisputed facts of the case. They argue plaintiffs are entitled to summary judgment because the SAVE overhaul violates the APA, Social Security Act, separation of powers, and the Privacy Act.
District court grants summary judgment to plaintiffs
The district court grants summary judgment to the plaintiffs, ruling that the SAVE overhaul is illegal and violates the APA, Social Security Act, and Privacy Act.