Judge orders RFK Jr.'s health department to stop sharing Medicaid data with deportation officials

AMANDA SEITZ and KIMBERLY KINDY
Thu, August 14, 2025



WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge ordered the nation's health department to stop giving deportation officials access to the personal information — including home addresses — of all 79 million Medicaid enrollees.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services first handed over the personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees in a handful of states in June. After an Associated Press report identified the new policy, 20 states filed a lawsuit to stop its implementation.

In July, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services entered into a new agreement that gave the Department of Homeland Security daily access to view the personal data — including Social Security numbers and home address — of all the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees. Neither agreement was announced publicly.

The extraordinary disclosure of such personal health data to deportation officials in the Trump administration’s far-reaching immigration crackdown immediately prompted the lawsuit over privacy concerns.

The Medicaid data sharing is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to provide DHS with more data on migrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigration’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S.

The order, issued by federal Judge Vince Chhabria in California, temporarily halts the health department from sharing personal data of enrollees in those 20 states, which include California, Arizona, Washington and New York.

“Using CMS data for immigration enforcement threatens to significantly disrupt the operation of Medicaid—a program that Congress has deemed critical for the provision of health coverage to the nation’s most vulnerable residents,” Chhabria wrote in his decision, issued on Tuesday.

Chhabria, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said that the order will remain in effect until the health department outlines “reasoned decisionmaking” for its new policy of sharing data with deportation officials.

A spokesperson for the federal health department declined to directly answer whether the agency would stop sharing its data with DHS. HHS has maintained that its agreement with DHS is legal.

Immigrants who are not living in the U.S. legally, as well as some lawfully present immigrants, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program that provides nearly free coverage for health services. But federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Medicaid is a jointly funded program between states and the federal government.

Immigration advocates have said the disclosure of personal data could cause alarm among people seeking emergency medical help for themselves or their children. Other efforts to crack down on illegal immigration have made schools, churches, courthouses and other everyday places feel perilous to immigrants and even U.S. citizens who fear getting caught up in a raid.

“Protecting people’s private health information is vitally important,” Washington state's Attorney General Nick Brown said in a statement. “

Judge temporarily blocks Medicaid data sharing with ICE officials

Nathaniel Weixel
Thu, August 14, 2025 

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from sharing the personal data of Medicaid enrollees with immigration officials.

District Judge Vince Chhabria in the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction on Aug. 12 blocking the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using Medicaid data obtained from 20 states for immigration enforcement purposes.

It also blocks HHS from sharing Medicaid data obtained from this coalition of states with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for immigration enforcement purposes.

The preliminary injunction will remain in place either until 14 days after HHS and DHS complete a “reasoned decisionmaking process” that complies with the Administrative Procedure Act, or until litigation concludes.

Chhabria wrote that while there is nothing “categorically unlawful” about DHS obtaining data from agencies like HHS for immigration enforcement purposes, ICE has had a well-publicized policy against using Medicaid data for that explicit purpose since 2013.

Similarly, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has long maintained a policy of only using patients’ personal information to run its health care programs, and has publicized that on its website.

“Given these policies, and given that the various players in the Medicaid system have relied on them, it was incumbent upon the agencies to carry out a reasoned decisionmaking process before changing them,” Chhabria wrote.

“The record in this case strongly suggests that no such process occurred.”

In July, California led a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration arguing that the mass transfer of Medicaid data violated the law, and it asked the court to block any new transfer or use of the data for immigration enforcement purposes.

The data transfer, first reported by The Associated Press in June, showed that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully sought to block the data transfer, but were overruled by top advisers to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The dataset includes the information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars.


“The Trump Administration’s move to use Medicaid data for immigration enforcement upended longstanding policy protections without notice or consideration for the consequences,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said in a statement. “As the President continues to overstep his authority in his inhumane anti-immigrant crusade, this is a clear reminder that he remains bound by the law.”

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Judge blocks use of Medicaid data for immigration enforcement

Jason Sutich
Fri, August 15, 2025 



This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com

A federal judge blocked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using Medicaid data in 19 states, including Washington, for immigration enforcement, the Washington Office of the Attorney General (AG) announced Wednesday via a news release.

The judge also barred the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from sharing that data with DHS, noting the coalition will most likely be successful in its claim that the action violated the Administrative Procedure Act.

The injunction will be in place until the HHS and DHS create a process that aligns with the Administrative Procedure Act, or litigation ends.

“Protecting people’s private health information is vitally important,” Washington AG Nick Brown stated in the release. “And everyone should be able to seek medical care without fear of what the federal government may do with that information.”
Immigrant Medicaid data leaked

As part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, officials were given personal data on millions of Medicaid enrollees, including their immigration status.

An internal memo and emails obtained by The Associated Press (AP) detailed that Medicaid officials unsuccessfully attempted to block the transfer of data, citing legal and ethical concerns.

Two top advisors to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the data be handed over to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Officials were given a 54-minute window to comply, The AP stated.

Included in the dataset was personal information of residents from California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C., all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid, which is funded solely by state taxpayer dollars, according to the media outlet.

Experts said the dataset can assist in locating migrants, and additionally can prevent migrants’ ability to receive green cards, permanent residency, or citizenship, if any Medicaid benefits had previously been obtained, The AP stated.
Medicaid dataset aids immigrant arrests

A statement from Gavin Newsom’s office noted the concerns with the data release aiding federal authorities in immigration raids.

“This potential data transfer brought to our attention by the AP is extremely concerning, and if true, potentially unlawful, particularly given numerous headlines highlighting potential improper federal use of personal information and federal actions to target the personal information of Americans,” the statement said.

U.S. Democrat Representative Laura Friedman also wrote in a post on X that the use of this data should not aid arrests.



Andrew Nixon, HHS spokesman, claimed that sharing the data was legal.

“With respect to the recent data sharing between CMS and DHS, HHS acted entirely within its legal authority–and in full compliance with all applicable laws–to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them,” Nixon said, according to The AP.

The dataset includes personal addresses, names, and social security numbers, the media outlet stated.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest