Chicago – July 02, 2025
A coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration on Tuesday after federal health officials shared data about Medicaid recipients with the Department of Homeland Security.
“The Trump Administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE. In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement announcing the lawsuit.
The lawsuit challenges the decision of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to provide access to individual personal health data to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Bonta and the coalition asked the court to block any new transfer or use of the data for immigration enforcement.
“If members of our community cannot trust that the government will keep their medical history and other personal data safe, they will think twice about going to the doctor when needed,” the lawsuit said.
Certain personal data — including addresses, names, immigration status, and Social Security numbers — is routinely exchanged between the states and the federal government for the purposes of administering Medicaid funding. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advisers ordered the release of the dataset in June, which included information on residents in California, Illinois, Washington, and Washington, D.C., the Associated Press reported. Those jurisdictions allow some immigrants without legal status to access certain state-based health benefits.
