As the Trump administration takes a firm stance against foreign influence in American elections, Joseph Edlow, the director of the US Citizenship Office (USCIS), is spearheading efforts aimed at reforming election policies. Upon taking office, President Donald Trump quickly issued an executive order focused on enhancing citizenship verification to bar foreigners from participating in elections. Since then, USCIS has worked to fortify resources for state leaders to more effectively identify and eliminate non-citizens from voter rolls.
Edlow, who oversees over 20,000 agents managing the nation’s immigration system, asserts that their work has only just begun. “We’re already seeing improvements in election safety compared to six months ago,” he mentioned. “My aim is to ensure that the next midterm election is one of the most secure in American history.”
Edlow began his tenure as USCIS director in July, having previously served as deputy director of policy during Trump’s first term. He finds himself at the forefront of efforts to eliminate foreign influence in US elections.
In March, Trump signed Executive Order 14248, aimed at maintaining the integrity of American elections by intensifying the verification processes and restricting foreign interference. This order also directs USCIS to provide states with access to the systematic alien verification for eligibility (SAVE) database at no cost, boosting election integrity.
This online service, managed by USCIS, enables various government agencies to verify the immigration status of applicants seeking benefits or attempting to gain citizenship. State officials combating voter fraud have reported that access to this database has significantly enhanced their efforts. For instance, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson noted, “Getting access to this database was pivotal; it allowed us to identify non-citizens who voted in prior elections.”
Nelson’s comments followed the identification of 33 potential non-citizens who had voted in Texas during the 2024 presidential election. Following this, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton indicated that over 100 suspicious non-citizens were thought to have voted illegally in the past two election cycles.
The SAVE system, originally designed for granting public benefits eligibility, has now been adapted to assist election officials with auditing voter registrations more efficiently. In May, USCIS further enhanced the SAVE system by collaborating with the Social Security Administration to provide reliable information on immigration status and citizenship, allowing state officials to verify citizenship and prevent foreign participation in elections.
This new partnership enables agencies to create SAVE cases using Social Security numbers, which is more accessible for many state and local organizations. Edlow noted, “We can now submit multiple cases at once, streamlining our processes.”
Edlow also expressed ongoing commitment to enhancing the system. “We’re constantly testing and improving it, and we aim to refine our methods further,” he said.
Throughout this crackdown, the administration has pursued cases against non-citizens reportedly involved in elections. In April, two Ukrainians were prosecuted for illegally voting, and in the same month, an Iraqi national faced charges related to the 2020 presidential election. Instances of Colombian immigrants voting while using fraudulent identities were also revealed.
While it remains challenging to determine how many non-citizens may have voted in previous elections, one notable case involved a Chinese citizen in Michigan who attempted to return to vote after contacting local officials for assistance.
The Trump administration has not only pursued individual cases but has also applied pressure on jurisdictions perceived as lax in maintaining clean voter rolls. For example, a lawsuit was filed against Orange County, California, for not providing adequate documentation on their efforts to remove non-citizens from their voter lists. A similar lawsuit was directed at North Carolina over alleged failures to comply with federal voter registration standards.
As the administration continues its crackdown, the USCIS director emphasizes ongoing improvements to the SAVE database and election security. “We’re making adjustments as needed to ensure that our system becomes more effective,” Edlow concluded, asserting that current capabilities will only improve over time.
