Judge Orders D.H.S. to Restore 4 States' Access to Citizenship Data

[applegrove]

Judge Orders D.H.S. to Restore 4 States’ Access to Citizenship Data

The ruling, based on an agreement the Trump administration signed with Florida last year, contradicted an earlier order by a judge in Washington that required the access be suspended.

By Zach Montague and David Ovalle
Zach Montague reported from Washington, and David Ovalle from Miami.

July 7, 2026, 7:59 p.m. ET

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/07/us/politics/florida-judge-dhs-citizenship-data.html?unlocked_article_code=1.wFA.qTHF.o5DaHmlIDyOC&smid=url-share

A federal judge in Florida ordered the Homeland Security Department on Tuesday to once again allow four Republican-led states access to federal citizenship data to help screen their voter rolls, contradicting a judge in Washington who had ordered the agency to withdraw that access nationally.

The decision, which was based on a legal settlement the Trump administration reached with the State of Florida last year, created a remarkable split between two courts over the legality of measures that President Trump has pursued to insert the federal government into election administration. It also renewed questions about the administration’s pattern of entering settlements with ideologically aligned states in ways that bind the federal government into specific policies for years beyond Mr. Trump’s second term.

In a concise 10-page opinion, Judge T. Kent Wetherell II of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Florida, a Trump appointee, wrote that under the legal agreement from last year, the Homeland Security Department had agreed with Florida officials to cooperate on “improving and modernizing” a federal citizenship database, including by integrating Social Security data. As part of that, he wrote, the department agreed to allow bulk searches of the database submitted by state officials.

In addition to Florida, the attorneys general of Ohio, Iowa and Indiana had joined the case last year, making those states subject to the order on Tuesday.