House and Senate Republicans are reviving a Trump-backed push to crack down on noncitizen voting

FIRST ON FOX: Republican deputies in the House and Senate are renewing a push to crack down on noncitizen voting in federal elections, reintroducing a bipartisan bill that was repeatedly touted by the GOP last year.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, are reintroducing the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act.which seeks to ensure that non-citizens cannot vote in federal elections.

Although only citizens can vote in federal elections, Republicans have argued that this is impossible to enforce because non-citizens and illegal immigrants they are eligible for driver’s licenses and other benefits in the states, which may lead them to register to vote.

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The bill requires states to obtain documentary proof of US citizenship and identity in person when registering a person to vote. It also requires states to establish a program to remove noncitizens from voter rolls and allows citizens to file lawsuits against officials who fail to comply with the law.

The bill was approved in House last yearwith five Democrats voting in favor, but stalled in the Senate, where the House controlled by Democrats passed a spending bill without including the SAVE Act, as Republicans had hoped. President Biden had promised to veto the bill.

The bill has gained increasing prominence among Republicans amid a surge in migrants to the United States during the Biden administration, as well as recent announcements by states that had identified thousands of noncitizens in their registries.

But Republicans now control the Senate and soon the White House, where President-elect Trump has expressed support for legislation to prevent noncitizens from voting.

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“Republicans need to pass the Rescue Act, or go home and cry themselves to sleep,” he said in July.

Roy, who is introducing the bill in the House with Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-NY, said, “American elections belong to American citizens, and public trust in those elections is the cornerstone of our republic”.

“We in Congress have a duty to our fellow citizens to provide that trust. We must have concrete enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure that our elections and our sovereignty cannot be hijacked and influenced by foreign citizens who have no business voting in this country.” he said

“The House passed this fundamental bipartisan bill last year — we need to do it again. I look forward to working with the Republican Senate to get this policy to President Trump’s desk,” he said.

Lee said public confidence in electoral integrity “is absolutely essential to the legitimacy of our democratic institutions.”

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“The vast majority of our fellow Americans agree: only American citizens should be able to register and vote in American elections. The SAVE Act gives states the ability to prevent the illegal registration of voters and protect the ballot box from foreign election interference,” he said.

Garbarino, for his part, criticized New York City for disregarding the principle that American citizens decide their choices by allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections.

“The SAVE Act maintains the integrity of our elections by requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote, ensuring that this fundamental right is reserved exclusively for American citizens,” he said.

The bill also has the support of groups such as the Citizens’ Vote Coalition, the Tea Party Action Patriots and the Immigration Accountability Project. It has 59 co-sponsors in the Chamber. The bill was introduced in the lower house on Friday and is expected to be introduced in the Senate next week.

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The bill comes as Congress is expected to make immigration-related issues a top priority. On Tuesday, the House approved Laken Riley Actwhich would require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes. It would also allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for damages caused to their citizens due to illegal immigration.

Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Liz Elkind contributed to this report.