20 States Sue Trump Administration Over Medicaid Data Sharing With ICE

A coalition of 20 states, including Washington, California, and others, has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for allegedly violating federal privacy laws by sharing millions of individuals' Medicaid data with federal immigration authorities. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claims that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provided unrestricted access to this sensitive health information to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), facilitating mass deportations. State officials argue that this data sharing breaches longstanding privacy protections and federal laws, including the Administrative Procedures Act and the Social Security Act, and has created a climate of fear that may deter individuals from seeking necessary medical care. Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and Governor Bob Ferguson emphasized that Medicaid data should only be used for healthcare purposes, not for immigration enforcement, calling the administration's actions a breach of trust and a political misuse of private health information. The states seek to block any further data transfers and use of this information by immigration authorities. This legal action highlights concerns about the privacy and rights of immigrant communities amid the administration's broader immigration enforcement efforts.