Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Verification Enhancement and Reliability for Immigration Fidelity Act of 2026” or as the “VERIFY Act of 2026”.
Verification Enhancement and Reliability for Immigration Fidelity Act of 2026
A BILL
To modernize and improve the accuracy, timeliness, and interoperability of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 SAVE program modernization
General requirement— The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, shall modernize the SAVE program to ensure accurate, timely, and reliable verification response, including by—
upgrading query processing infrastructure to reduce response latency;
implementing automated data reconciliation with source systems;
expanding API access for authorized querying agencies; and
establishing a user feedback mechanism for agencies to report suspected data errors.
Timeliness of updates— To the maximum extent practicable and consistent with applicable law, the Secretary shall ensure that changes to an individual’s immigration status, including grants, extensions, expirations, revocations, or terminations of lawful status or parole, are reflected in the SAVE program not later than 24 hours after such changes are recorded in the originating system.
Interoperability and data sharing— The Secretary, consistent with the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, and other applicable Federal law, shall—
integrate the SAVE program into relevant Department of Homeland Security systems, including arrival and departure information systems;
establish or update memoranda of understanding with the Social Security Administration and other Federal agencies, as appropriate, to improve verification accuracy using data-sharing arrangements authorized under applicable Federal law, including section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, the Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act of 1988, and memoranda of understanding in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act; and
encourage voluntary data-sharing agreements with State vital records agencies for verification of birth and death information, where legally permissible.
Post-Verification status change alerts— The SAVE program shall notify querying agencies when an individual’s immigration status materially changes after a prior verification, when such notification is relevant to continued eligibility. Notifications shall comply with privacy applicable Federal privacy laws, including the Privacy Act of 1974, and with additional administrative safeguards established by the Secretary and include only information necessary for eligibility determinations.
Data scope limitations— Information used or displayed through the SAVE program shall be limited to data necessary for eligibility verification purposes. Nothing in this Act may be construed to authorize—
the expansion of the SAVE program to include non-immigration criminal history databases; and
the use of the SAVE program for general law enforcement or surveillance purposes.
Use of automated tools— The Secretary may use automated or algorithmic tools within the SAVE program solely for data reconciliation, error reduction, and identity matching, provided that—
no adverse eligibility determination is made solely on the basis of automated processing;
human review is required for contested or negative determinations; and
the Secretary implements regular testing for accuracy and bias and submits summary results annually to Congress.
Sec. 3 Prohibition on user access and fees
No fee may be charged to a Federal, State, local, or Tribal government agency for submitting a verification query through the SAVE program.
Sec. 4 Implementation and oversight
Modernization plan— Not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a SAVE modernization plan that includes—
a description of technological upgrades to the SAVE program;
user training improvements; and
performance metrics related to accuracy and response time, including error rates and average query completion time benchmarks.
Inspector general audits— The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security shall conduct annual audits of the SAVE program’s accuracy, timeliness, and compliance with this Act, and submit reports to Congress.
Corrective action— If the Inspector General identifies material non-compliance, the Secretary shall submit a corrective action plan to Congress within 90 days. Continued non-compliance may be addressed through limitations on the use of funds for non-SAVE discretionary activities, as determined by Congress, and may trigger suspension of SAVE queries until compliance is restored.
Sec. 5 Definition
For purposes of this Act, the term “SAVE program” means the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, established pursuant to section 121 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.
Sec. 6 Effective date
This Act shall take effect one year after the date of enactment, except that planning and reporting requirements under section 4 shall take effect immediately upon enactment.
Sec. 7 Severability
If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof, is held invalid, the remainder of this Act shall not be affected.