2026

September 25, 2026

by Abrielle Huang, Boston Latin School

Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters (or Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. / Docket 26A406)

In the case of Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D., By 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) granted a stay for an an emergency application, pausing a the United States Court of Appeals of First Circuit's (1st Cir) nationwide injunction, and allowing the Trump administration to move forward with using a modified version of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to verify voter citizenship. 

Status: the application is treated as writ of certiorari, a request from the SCOTUS to the lower courts to send case materials for the SCOTUS to hear the case. The parties are required to write briefs to the SCOTUS to explain their positions in the case by the schedule set by the SCOTUS clerks. Oral argument is set to happen in December 2026

As a result, the Trump administration can resume its policy of deporting undocumented immigrants to third countries without a hearing, regardless of the condition of the destinations, while appeal is pending. The 1st Cir. is located in Boston, MA.

A similar case, Department of Homeland Security v. League of Women Voters (Docket 26A308), also by 6-3 vote, the SCOTUS stayed the U.S. District Court of District of Columbia (DC Cir.), located in Washington DC, and allowed federal agencies to use an expanded federal database to verify voter citizenship status ahead of the elections. 

As result, the state and local officials can bulk search of voter registration lists using Social Security Administration records, which opponents argue that could be outdated.

Knowledge base: 

Federal Courts: SCOTUS, 1st Cir., and D.D.C. are all federal courts with SCOTUS being the highest court of the land. They have one thing in common, they can only hear cases they have subject matter juristiction (authority), which means the issue in the case is of federal questions: disputes that involve the U.S. Constitution, federal statues passed by the U.S. Congress, or treaties made by the United States. All cases with other issues and disputes, are heard by state and local courts.

Stay: A formal court order that act as a "pause button" in the legal procedure. It allows parties in dispute to continue their disputed activities until specific condition(s) is(are) met, a pending event occurs, or a certain levels of court (higher) review the case.