A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Alabama officials to stop a program meant to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls, dealing a blow to local efforts to prevent non-citizen participation in elections.

Alabama and the Alabama Secretary of State must cease efforts to remove non-citizens from the state’s voter rolls between now and the Nov. 5 election and must also give guidance to counties in the state to quickly restore many of the voters who have already been taken off, according to an order issued by U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco of the Northern District of Alabama. Manasco had been appointed to the court by former President Donald Trump in May 2020.

“This action sends a clear message that the Justice Department will work to ensure that the rights of eligible voters are protected,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated in a press release. “The Justice Department remains steadfast in our resolve to protect voters from unlawful removal from the registration rolls and to ensure that states comply with the mandate of federal law.”

Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen, a Republican, announced in August that his office had identified 3,251 individuals who were registered to vote in the state but had also been issued non-citizen identification numbers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Allen at that time instructed county officials to immediately take the necessary steps to remove all non-citizens from voter rolls.

“I have been clear that I will not tolerate the participation of noncitizens in our elections,” Allen said at the time. “We have examined the current voter file in an attempt to identify anyone who appears on that list that has been issued a noncitizen identification number.”

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Allen and the State of Alabama on Sept. 27, alleging that the secretary of state’s voter list maintenance initiative violated the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 because it was removing voters within 90 days of a federal election, according to the DOJ press release.

The judge’s injunction stops Allen’s voter purge program until after Election Day, finding that it incorrectly placed legally registered voters on a list of possibly unlawful registered voters, according to court documents.

In reaction to the order, Allen said his office would comply with the order but vowed to keep protecting the integrity of elections.

“Because this litigation is still ongoing, I am limited in my ability to comment,” Allen stated to the Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday. “Earlier today, the federal court issued a preliminary injunction order. I will comply with the order of the federal court.”

“I have a constitutional duty to ensure that only eligible American citizens are voting in our elections,” he continued. “State and federal laws are clear that only eligible American citizens can vote in our elections. Today’s order does not change that.”