In defeat for Trump, court allows nonprofits to register voters at naturalization ceremonies 

By Alexandra Hutzler

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New US citizens recite the Oath of Allegiance before receiving their naturalization certificates during a formal ceremony at Midway International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, on June 25, 2025. The new citizens, approximately 25 Chicago-area residents, hail from six countries: Jordan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Spain, and Yemen. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

In a stinging defeat for the Trump administration’s broad effort to make it harder for naturalized citizens to vote, a federal judge reinstated a decades-old policy allowing nonprofit groups to help new U.S. citizens register as voters at their naturalization ceremonies.

The victory for pro-voting groups means nonpartisan, nonprofit groups like the League of Women Voters can continue programs that help newly naturalized citizens register to vote as soon as they receive their citizenship.

U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson in Maryland issued a final judgment in the case this week saying the policy was unlawful and motivated by discriminatory intent.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services instituted a new policy last year that only allowed state and local election officials, not nonprofits, to offer voter registration services at naturalization ceremonies.

The League of Women Voters and the National Council of Jewish Women sued the administration last fall, saying the policy violated their free speech protections under the First Amendment as well as the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guarantee.

The League of Women Voters said it had registered hundreds of thousands of people after naturalization ceremonies over the years, and that the policy change forced it to cancel events nationwide.

Abelson first issued a preliminary injunction on the administration’s voter registration ban in early August. Making that block permanent this week, he said the federal government must go back to its previous policy of allowing non-governmental groups to help newly naturalized U.S. citizens register to vote so long as they are nonprofit and nonpartisan.

“Participation in our democracy is one of the most meaningful aspects of American citizenship,” Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, said in a statement on Thursday celebrating the new ruling.

Stewart said it “reaffirms the right of every American to help shape our democracy and ensures that the League can continue the nonpartisan voter education work we’ve done for generations as we welcome newly naturalized citizens into our ranks. This victory protects a longstanding tradition of civic engagement and will strengthen our democracy for decades to come.”