Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security officers walk ahead of a bus at the DHS field office in Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, May 4, 2025. Multiple immigrant rights groups gathered to protest what they believed to be a multiagency operation to detain noncitizens overnight.
Sacramento, California – California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 19 other Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Trump administration, alleging that the federal government unlawfully shared confidential Medicaid data with immigration enforcement agencies. The suit, filed in the Northern District of California, argues the action violates multiple federal privacy laws and threatens to destabilize health care access for millions of vulnerable residents.
At the heart of the legal challenge is a revelation last month that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transferred entire state Medicaid data files—including personal health information and immigration status—to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The states allege the transfer was done without notice or proper legal authorization, and that the Trump administration intends to use the data to facilitate mass deportations.
The states argue that the data grab violates the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Social Security Act, and several other federal statutes designed to protect health data privacy. The lawsuit calls on the court to block any further data transfers and prohibit DHS from using already-shared information for immigration enforcement.
The Department of Health and Human Services defended the move, stating that Medicaid resources should be reserved for “individuals lawfully entitled to receive them.” HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the transfer was part of “routine oversight,” but offered no explanation for why states were not informed.
As of January, more than 78 million people are enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including over 2 million noncitizens in California. The state expanded its Medi-Cal program in 2024 to cover all eligible residents regardless of immigration status, using state-only funds to cover services not funded federally.
News of the data sharing has stirred fears across immigrant communities, where even emergency services could now be viewed as risky. Advocates warn of a chilling effect: people who are eligible for emergency Medi-Cal might avoid care out of fear it could lead to arrest or deportation.
“This creates a culture of fear that will have deadly consequences,” Bonta said. “We cannot allow the federal government to turn doctors’ offices into data farms for ICE.”
The lawsuit is the 28th legal action Bonta has filed against the Trump administration in just 23 weeks, underscoring California’s combative stance in the face of increasingly aggressive federal immigration enforcement. At stake is not only the integrity of Medicaid, but the fundamental question of whether seeking care in the United States should place someone at risk.
