(CN) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security Tuesday, claiming the Biden administration is unlawfully withholding information on the citizenship status of registered voters.
In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Paxton, joined by the Texas Secretary of State, claims U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services did not adequately comply with the attorney general’s request to verify the citizenship status of Texans who have registered to vote without a state-issued driver’s license or identification card.
There are over 450,000 such voters registered in Texas, Paxton says in the complaint. He is asking the court to issue a writ of mandamus ordering the defendants to provide information on their citizenship.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services immediately responded to requests for comment on the lawsuit.
Republicans have been vigorously pushing concerns over the idea of noncitizens illegally voting in the upcoming Nov. 4 General Election. In July, the House of Representatives passed the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections, but the bill has stalled in the Democrat-controlled Senate, with many Democrats arguing it creates unnecessary barriers for U.S. citizens to register to vote.
In his complaint, Paxton bemoans Congress’ failure to pass the SAVE Act, saying: “Texans are increasingly concerned about the possibility of non-citizen voting, and the Attorney General of Texas and the Secretary of State of Texas have the responsibility to uphold the integrity of Texas’s elections.”
Earlier this month, Paxton sent a letter demanding U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provide information on the citizenship status of people who have registered to vote in Texas without a state-issued ID, claiming “their citizenship status has never been verified.” Paxton gave the government agency until Oct. 17 to provide the requested information.
“Although I have no doubt the vast majority of the voters on the list are citizens who are eligible to vote, I am equally certain that Texans have no way of knowing whether or not any of the voters on the list are noncitizens who are ineligible to vote,” Paxton wrote.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services responded by directing Texas to the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program as “the most secure and efficient way to reliably verify an individual’s citizenship or immigration status, including for verification regarding voter registration and/or voter list maintenance,” adding that it couldn’t currently offer “an alternative process to any state.”
The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) service is an online system operated by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that allows government agencies to verify the immigration status and the naturalized or acquired U.S. citizenship status of individuals applying for public benefits and licenses.
In his complaint, Paxton says the SAVE system is inadequate to confirm the citizenship of registered voters, and he also complains that users have to pay a fee for each verification.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has refused to comply with federal law, presenting yet another obstacle for Texas to overcome in ensuring free and fair elections in our state,” Paxton said in a statement. “The law demands that they provide important information regarding the citizenship of nearly half a million potentially ineligible voters. Since the Biden-Harris Administration has chosen to ignore the law, I will see them in court.”