California Attorney General Rob Bonta, along with a coalition of 19 other states, filed a lawsuit Tuesday accusing the Trump Administration of unlawfully sharing Medicaid recipients’ personal health data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The coalition filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for allegedly transferring millions of individuals’ private health records to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without proper authorization or public notice. These records reportedly include information from Medicaid beneficiaries, including noncitizens and undocumented individuals enrolled in California’s Medi-Cal program.
Bonta called the move “illegal” and “an anti-immigrant campaign tactic.”
“The Trump Administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE,” Bonta said in a statement. “It has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care.”
At the center of the dispute lies the Medicaid Act, which Congress enacted in 1965 to provide medical assistance to low-income individuals and families. Traditionally, states and the federal government protect personal data collected through Medicaid and only use it in specific, limited circumstances related to public health or program integrity. The lawsuit argues that the mass transfer of this data to ICE for immigration enforcement not only breaks with precedent but also violates federal law.
On June 13, news reports revealed that HHS had transferred entire state Medicaid databases—including California’s—to DHS. These databases allegedly contain sensitive personal and health information. Federal officials claim they shared the data to verify that only individuals lawfully entitled to Medicaid benefits receive them.
However, Bonta and the coalition argue that this justification contradicts federal law and decades of established policy. For example, Congress legally extended emergency Medicaid to all U.S. residents regardless of immigration status. California also uses state funds to provide Medi-Cal coverage to over two million noncitizens.
The lawsuit warns that the data-sharing decision could discourage eligible individuals from seeking emergency care due to fear of immigration consequences. This fear could leave vulnerable populations at risk and shift the burden of care onto state and local healthcare systems.
“People will suffer. Some may even die, simply because they are too afraid to go to the hospital,” Bonta said.
The coalition claims that the Trump Administration’s actions violate multiple federal laws, including the Administrative Procedure Act, the Social Security Act, HIPAA, the Federal Information Security Modernization Act, the Privacy Act, and the Constitution’s Spending Clause. They are asking the court to immediately block HHS from sharing any additional Medicaid data and to prevent DHS from using the information it has already received for immigration enforcement.
Attorneys general from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington joined California in filing the lawsuit.
