Latino Voices Under Threat by the SAVE Act

By Barbara 

The House of Representatives last month passed by a narrow margin the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on the basis of an uncorroborated narrative that noncitizens unlawfully vote in federal elections. People like me, a 25-year-old who recently became a U.S. citizen, felt confused and hurt by this legislation. Noncitizen voting is already illegal in this country, and federal and state laws govern this. There is a reason why noncitizen voting almost never happens: People would not want to risk their immigration status and criminal penalties to cast a single vote in one election.

The SAVE Act is a restrictive, anti-voting bill comparable to poll taxes or literature tests used to target and disenfranchise communities of color during the Jim Crow era. This legislation would require documentary proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to register to vote in federal elections — even though more than 21 million Americans are unable to access or provide these documents. The SAVE Act is a frontal assault on our democracy, and it must never become law.  

The noncitizen voting narrative has long existed, but Donald Trump took it to new heights in 2016 when he alleged without evidence that “in addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” After losing the 2020 presidential election, Trump launched a series of lawsuits alleging that fraudulent voting practices affected the election. The Trump campaign claimed an additional 234,570 votes were cast by noncitizens, enough to sway the election in president-elect Joe Biden’s favor. Every lawsuit was dismissed, and even after extensive investigations no fraud has been found.

In advance of the 2024 election, Trump asserted again that noncitizens were voting in federal elections, which became the rationale for Trump and others to attack the integrity of the election system and the results, if necessary. The SAVE Act, first introduced last summer, was designed to perpetuate that myth.

Even before becoming a U.S. citizen, I felt a sense of civic duty to help my community and inform them about their rights and responsibilities as citizens. I deeply treasured the experience of being part of a democratic process and engaging civically, as I was never able to do it in my country of origin due to possible persecution. For years, I have encouraged U.S. citizens to register to vote and make their voices heard. As an undergraduate student, I helped organize a voter registration drive for the 2020 presidential election on my college campus. Despite not having the right to vote then, I was still thankful to facilitate that process for many students, as many did not know how to register or access the system. In addition, while hosting this drive, the school and organization celebrated the right to vote and its significance in the democratic process.

In the 2024 presidential election, more than 36.2 million Latinos were eligible to vote, representing 15 percent of the electorate. This included me. I was eligible to vote for the first time, and I proudly exercised my right to vote. 

Throughout this past election, however, I was extremely aware of the narratives surrounding noncitizen voting that cast a doubt over this sacred moment for me. As someone who previously was not a citizen, I know first-hand that it is implausible for noncitizens to risk their immigration status to cast a vote. The media was full of insinuations that Latino immigrants like me were undermining elections, and such accusations were and are still false and deeply harmful, as were increased intimidation and threats of violence towards the Latino community. This topic directly impacted my community — and as a result, I became very conscious about my status as a naturalized citizen, its protections, and the rights my newly acquired citizenship guaranteed. 

The combination of this false narrative and the SAVE Act profoundly impacts me. It also deeply affects families with mixed status members — documented and undocumented — which include around 19.5 million Latino families. This includes the families residing in my home state of  Florida, as more than 10 percent of Floridians live in a mixed-status household.

Many civil rights organizations such as The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights oppose the SAVE Act because it manufactures insurmountable barriers to voting for many different groups, including communities of color. Many naturalized citizens would be affected, as they do not have access or the economic means to obtain proof of citizenship. Additionally, this would intimidate potential voters who lack information about the procedures regarding voter registration. Moreover, members of immigrant communities would be targeted and possibly be removed from voter rolls due to being flagged as possible noncitizens. For example, last year Alabama’s secretary of state instructed county registrars to remove more than 3,000 registered voters who had ever received “noncitizen identification numbers.” The voter purge included more than 2,000 citizens who were lawfully registered to vote.

The SAVE Act would also have a chilling effect on voter participation, as it would create many hardships for communities nationwide and fuel fear and uncertainty in the democratic process. While the SAVE Act aims to create a more “secure” electoral system and “fair” elections, it actually promotes a non-inclusive and unwelcoming environment by imposing unnecessary barriers to the registration process and addressing already illegal conduct. 

Here’s the bottom line: The SAVE Act would have a devastating impact on immigrant communities, particularly within the Latino community and with naturalized citizens. As someone who recently became a citizen, I know full well the harm that would be caused by this bill on me and on my community. Because of this bill’s detrimental effects, we must come together and ensure that the SAVE Act never becomes law. We must unite in solidarity with immigrant families, protect their rights, and push lawmakers to prioritize fair and inclusive elections instead of harmful policies that target vulnerable populations. 

Let’s reject the SAVE Act and instead work toward a more inclusive and just democracy for all!

Barbara was a spring 2025 legal intern at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.