Maryland Attorney General Joins Coalition to Block Expansion of Federal Data Collection Program

Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, alongside a coalition of 18 other state attorneys general, has voiced strong opposition to the Trump administration’s expansion of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. This program, primarily used by state and local agencies to verify immigration status for various benefits, is now being broadened to encompass the personal information of U.S.-born citizens who have never had any interaction with the immigration system, raising significant privacy concerns.

The expanded SAVE program, as detailed in a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “Systems of Record Notice” (SORN) published on October 31, 2025, will permit searches based on Social Security numbers, U.S. passport numbers, and driver’s license numbers. This initiative, according to the coalition’s letter, represents a significant invasion of privacy and contributes to the federal government’s efforts to establish a national surveillance database. The attorneys general argue that this expansion, coupled with DHS’s documented efforts to collect vast amounts of personal data from various sources, exposes millions of Americans to potential data breaches and consolidates sensitive information in an unprecedented manner. Evidence suggests that modifications to the SAVE program began months prior to the official SORN publication, indicating a move to legitimize existing practices.

The SAVE program currently serves as an online resource administered by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, allowing government entities to confirm the immigration status of individuals applying for benefits or licenses. These can include crucial services such as driver’s licenses, eligibility for military service, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, and Medicaid. The recent modifications not only grant access to data for natural-born citizens but also introduce new “routine uses” that permit data disclosure to federal organizations for auditing purposes at state and local levels, as well as enabling simultaneous searches across multiple cases.

In their joint letter, Attorney General Brown and the coalition urged DHS to reverse these changes, emphasizing that the inclusion of multiple new data sources is likely to result in inaccurate, outdated, or contradictory information regarding an individual’s immigration or citizenship status. Such inaccuracies could create substantial burdens for states like Maryland, requiring extensive fact-finding to re-verify erroneous SAVE responses. This process is described as individualized and time-consuming. Furthermore, these verification errors could lead to the delay or denial of essential benefits for constituents, the wrongful flagging of individuals for investigation, or the erroneous removal of citizens from voter rolls.

The coalition also highlighted the significant security risks associated with a system that can access comprehensive personal data for all individuals in the United States, including their citizenship status, Social Security numbers, passport details, and driver’s license information. Such a centralized repository of sensitive data would be an attractive target for cybercriminals and hostile foreign entities. The security vulnerabilities are further exacerbated when federal agencies engage third-party contractors, granting them access to Americans’ private information.

Additionally, the attorneys general contend that the expansion of SAVE violates the Privacy Act of 1974. Their argument centers on the fact that records of natural-born U.S. citizens are being added without providing them with an opportunity to consent to or participate in the process of how USCIS utilizes their personal information. The coalition submitting these comments includes the attorneys general from California, New York, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office.

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