The Trump administration is giving the personal data of Medicaid-enrolled immigrants to the Department of Homeland Security, according to the Associated Press. The Department of Homeland Security forced the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—which is part of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services—to hand over personal information, an unprecedented move.
This is yet another clear invasion of privacy aimed to help ICE find immigrants’ names, homes, and jobs and identify immigrants receiving aid so that they can revoke green card applications and target permanent residency seekers.
Most of the data covers residents of California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C.—all states that let noncitizens enroll in Medicaid, and all states that are seeing ramped-up ICE raids and protests in response.
CMS tried to fight DHS’s request, arguing that they’d be violating the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, and in general going against “longstanding policy” of not giving people’s personal Medicaid data to a department that has nothing to do with Medicaid just because they are immigrants.
“We deeply value the privacy of all Californians,” Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “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.”
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