[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8635 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8635
To modernize and improve the accuracy, timeliness, and interoperability
of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 30, 2026
Mr. Shreve (for himself and Mr. Taylor) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To modernize and improve the accuracy, timeliness, and interoperability
of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
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''.
SEC. 2. SAVE PROGRAM MODERNIZATION.
(a) 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--
(1) upgrading query processing infrastructure to reduce
response latency;
(2) implementing automated data reconciliation with source
systems;
(3) expanding API access for authorized querying agencies;
and
(4) establishing a user feedback mechanism for agencies to
report suspected data errors.
(b) 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.
(c) 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--
(1) integrate the SAVE program into relevant Department of
Homeland Security systems, including arrival and departure
information systems;
(2) 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
(3) encourage voluntary data-sharing agreements with State
vital records agencies for verification of birth and death
information, where legally permissible.
(d) 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.
(e) 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--
(1) the expansion of the SAVE program to include non-
immigration criminal history databases; and
(2) the use of the SAVE program for general law enforcement
or surveillance purposes.
(f) 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--
(1) no adverse eligibility determination is made solely on
the basis of automated processing;
(2) human review is required for contested or negative
determinations; and
(3) 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.
(a) Modernization Plan.--Not later than 180 days after enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a SAVE modernization
plan that includes--
(1) a description of technological upgrades to the SAVE
program;
(2) user training improvements; and
(3) performance metrics related to accuracy and response
time, including error rates and average query completion time
benchmarks.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
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