USCIS Naturalization Ceremony Voter Registration Assistance Ban Challenge
National Council of Jewish Women v. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
A pro-voting lawsuit challenging a new USCIS policy that bars non-governmental organizations from providing voter registration assistance during naturalization ceremonies.
Background
The National Council of Jewish Women, Greater New Orleans Section, filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ (USCIS) August 2025 policy banning non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from providing voter registration assistance during naturalization ceremonies. According to the lawsuit, USCIS’s 2011 policy required that new citizens be given the chance and assistance to register to vote at naturalization ceremonies, allowing NGOs to help when local officials could not – but on Aug. 29, USCIS abruptly ended that system.
Plaintiff argues that USCIS’s voter assistance ban unlawfully discriminates against naturalized citizens in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee, due process protections and infringes on NGOs’ First Amendment rights to free expression and association. Plaintiff further asserts that the policy violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it is arbitrary, capricious, and lacks a reasoned justification. They are asking the court to block enforcement of the ban and restore the prior guidance that permitted NGOs to assist new citizens with voter registration.
Why It Matters
Every year, hundreds of thousands of people born outside the United States become U.S. citizens, joining the political community they worked hard to join. By 2024, one in ten eligible voters was a naturalized citizen. Yet despite their growing presence, naturalized citizens continue to vote at lower rates than native-born Americans, not because of apathy, but because many never make it onto the voter rolls. Complex and fragmented registration systems, language barriers, and limited access to official assistance create obstacles that hinder their participation. For years, allowing nonpartisan organizations to help new citizens register at naturalization ceremonies directly addressed this gap.
Latest Updates
- Nov. 7, 2025: Plaintiff filed the complaint.