{"id":2617876,"date":"2026-06-23T15:06:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T15:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T19:08:29","slug":"foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/","title":{"rendered":"Foreign-Born Judge Blocks Voter Citizenship Test"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">12<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fforeign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2617876&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A U.S. district court judge named Sparkle Sooknanan, originally from Trinidad and Tobago and a U.S. citizen since 2009, has blocked the Trump administration from using a federal database called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system. This database is designed to verify U.S. citizenship to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections. Sooknanan argued that the system&#8217;s data is often outdated or unreliable, and that its use infringes on American citizens\u2019 privacy rights, leading to the wrongful removal of citizens from voter rolls. Critics highlight her foreign origin and past roles in the Biden Justice Department as reasons to question her impartiality.The ruling has sparked controversy, with some accusing it of undermining efforts to secure electoral integrity and control noncitizen voting, which some suggest rarely occurs but is often exaggerated by opponents. The <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >debate reflects broader tensions<\/a> over immigration, voting rights, and judicial influence in federal policies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=RnMnR4T-dR4\">Forbes Breaking News \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/23\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Foreign-Born Judge Blocks Citizenship Test Saying It Would \u2018Purge\u2019 Voters&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/23\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Foreign-Born Judge Blocks Citizenship Test Saying It Would \u2018Purge\u2019 Voters&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/23\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/23\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Foreign-Born Judge Blocks Citizenship Test Saying It Would \u2018Purge\u2019 Voters&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/23\/foreign-born-judge-blocks-citizenship-test-saying-it-would-purge-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-is-a-nation-of-settlers-not-immigrants\/\" title=\"America Is A Nation Of Settlers, Not Immigrants\">foreign-born <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sidney-powell-is-an-american-legal-giant\/\" title=\"Sidney Powell Is an American Legal Giant\">federal judge<\/a><\/a> in D.C. ruled Monday that Americans are not allowed to check the citizenship of prospective voters because doing so might \u201cpurge voter rolls.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>D.C. District Court Judge Sparkle Sooknanan, who is <a href=\"https:\/\/civilrights.org\/resource\/the-leadership-conference-supports-the-confirmation-of-sparkle-sooknanan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">from<\/a> Trinidad and Tobago, <a href=\"https:\/\/ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov\/cgi-bin\/show_public_doc?2025cv3501-111\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">blocked<\/a> the Trump administration from using an updated database called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system in order to ensure that only American citizens vote in American elections.<\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-70906523\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sooknanan became a U.S. citizen in 2009, but seemingly still retains citizenship in Trinidad and Tobago, which she said she would only renounce \u201cif required by law.\u201d As Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Eric_Schmitt\/status\/2069453165796233391?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pointed out<\/a>, \u201cIf judges can stop Presidents, they should not also be citizens of foreign nations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The judge argued that because the database can sometimes have outdated information \u2014 for example, if someone obtained citizenship more recently than the last available information \u2014 the whole enterprise of making sure noncitizens cannot vote in American elections should be thrown out.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe agencies were scrambling to comply with an Executive Order aimed at reshaping federal elections, which directed them to create a system for mass voter verification. So they haphazardly combined and repurposed the private information of millions of Americans, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/foreign-born-biden-judge-named-sparkle-strikes-down-trump-database-to-purge-illegal-voters-because-it-purges-voters\/\" title=\"Foreign Born Biden Judge Named &#039;Sparkle&#039; Strikes Down Trump ... to Purge Illegal Voters Because It Purges Voters\">including citizenship data<\/a> that they knew to be unreliable,\u201d Sooknanan wrote. \u201cSince then, states have partnered with the federal government to access the database and are actively removing United States citizens from voter rolls based on inaccurate information. 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. This Court cannot stand idly by while that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller sarcastically <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/StephenM\/status\/2069154287934951731?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>, \u201cJudge Sparkle decrees that America belongs to any random alien on planet earth, just like our founders intended.\u201d Department of Homeland Security (DHS) General Counsel James Percival also <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DHSGenCounsel\/status\/2069150657693540396?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted<\/a>, \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how hard the Left will fight to stop us from solving problems they insist do not exist.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/03\/foreign-citizens-should-never-be-allowed-to-serve-in-american-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Foreign Citizens Should Never Be Allowed To Serve In American Government<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Democrats and the media persistently insist that noncitizen voting does not ever happen, except when it does, in which case it is acceptable. Associated Press <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/trump-elections-noncitizens-voting-save-lawsuit-a9612cfffa40c938e67b99f265c9e817?taid=6a399f4987e61100016dcd2e&#038;utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&#038;utm_medium=AP&#038;utm_source=Twitter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting<\/a> about Sooknanan\u2019s Monday ruling is no different, shoehorning in an entire section called \u201cVoting by noncitizens was already rare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/noncitizen-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">chronicled<\/a> numerous occasions of noncitizens voting.<\/p>\n<p>But a decision from a foreign-born federal judge to keep the government from being able to use its own database to enforce its own laws in order to break down a potential safeguard to keep noncitizens from voting is just the latest move in the ongoing <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judicial-coup\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">judicial coup<\/a> against the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>This is not the first <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/09\/03\/foreign-citizens-should-never-be-allowed-to-serve-in-american-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">decision<\/a> of Sooknanan\u2019s that places the interests of non-Americans ahead of the interests of the country in which she serves on the federal bench.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/11\/why-doesnt-america-denaturalize-in-the-thousands-like-it-used-to\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Doesn\u2019t America Denaturalize In The Thousands Like It Used To?<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Before becoming a federal judge, Sooknanan was a key Biden Justice Department official who <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/07\/18\/biden-justice-department-sought-federal-hook-to-go-after-parents-as-domestic-terrorists-documents\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pressed<\/a> to go after parents the Biden administration deemed \u201cdomestic terrorists\u201d for being concerned about what their children were learning in public schools across the country.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cImport third-world people, put them in power, watch your country start resembling their homelands,\u201d Greg Bovino, former commander-at-large of the U.S. Border Patrol, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/GregoryKBovino\/status\/2069401502754771156?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> of Sooknanan. \u201cMass deportations now, before the next 100 million illegals we have here have anchor babies lock it in.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Breccan F. Thies is the White House correspondent for The Federalist. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. As an investigative journalist, he previously covered education and culture issues for the Washington Examiner and Breitbart News. He holds a degree from the University of Virginia and is a 2022 Claremont Institute Publius Fellow. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Breccan F. Thies<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BreccanFThies\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@BreccanFThies<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/breccan-thies\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/eric-schmitt\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Eric Schmitt<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/foreign-born-population\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">foreign-born population<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judicial-coup\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">judicial coup<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/noncitizen-voters\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">noncitizen voters<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/save\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SAVE<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sparkle-sooknanan\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sparkle Sooknanan<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/systematic-alien-verification-for-entitlements\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Foreign-born judge blocks voter citizenship checks in D.C<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":179,"featured_media":2617878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-23-135943.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546,33651],"tags":[7161,3813,4151,36794,32570],"class_list":["post-2617876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","category-the-western-journal","tag-citizenship","tag-immigration","tag-judiciary","tag-legal-ruling","tag-voting-rights"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Screenshot-2026-06-23-135943.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/179"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2617876"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2617881,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2617876\/revisions\/2617881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2617878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2617876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2617876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2617876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}