The Trump administration is building a national citizenship data system
text.npr.org

The Trump administration has, for the first time ever, built a searchable national citizenship data system.

The tool, which is being rolled out in phases, is designed to be used by state and local election officials to give them an easier way to ensure only citizens are voting. But it was developed rapidly without a public process, and some of those officials are already worrying about what else it could be used for.

NPR is the first news organization to report the details of the new system.

For decades, voting officials have noted that there was no national citizenship list to compare their state lists to, so to verify citizenship for their voters, they either needed to ask people to provide a birth certificate or a passport — something that could disenfranchise millions — or use a complex patchwork of disparate data sources.

  • FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.auEnglish
    110·
    1 day ago

    Deport criminal aliens? I’m all for it, but most of the deportees have no criminal record or they accuse them of crimes as if it’s the same thing as a conviction.

    Illegal immigration is a crime.

        • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
          21·
          3 hours ago

          “Improper entry” through illegally crossing a border is a crime, but the majority of undocumented immigrants in the US don’t enter that way. “Unlawful presence” after a visa expires or is denied receives civil penalties rather than criminal, meaning they can’t lead to imprisonment but only fines or a court action like deportation.

          • FreedomAdvocate@lemmy.net.auEnglish
            12·
            2 hours ago

            but the majority of undocumented immigrants in the US don’t enter that way.

            Doubt, especially given what we saw from 2021-early 2025.