The Trump administration is building a national citizenship system

By Miles Parks,

Michel Martin

Published June 30, 2025 at 4:09 AM EDT

The Trump administration has built a searchable national citizenship data system. The tool is designed to be used by state and local election officials 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.

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Miles Parks

Miles Parks is a correspondent on NPR's Washington Desk, where he covers voting and election security.

Michel Martin

Michel Martin is a host of Morning Edition. Previously, she was the weekend host of All Things Considered and host of the Consider This Saturday podcast, where she drew on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member stations.