Obama-Appointed Judge Rules Trump Administration Can Share Medicaid Data Of Undocumented Immigrants With ICE

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, appointed by former President Obama, initially blocked the Trump administration from sharing personal information.

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration can share location data about undocumented immigrants who receive Medicaid or any other public health insurance benefits with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It’s a significant blow for California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his 21 other Democratic counterparts, who sued the administration in July to prevent the administration from using Medicaid data to target undocumented immigrants.

According to Politico, California, along with other states, sued the Trump administration following reports that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was sharing personal data collected from undocumented Medicaid enrollees with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, appointed by former President Barack Obama, initially blocked the Trump administration from sharing personal information for immigration enforcement temporarily in August. However, he changed his tune after ICE and HHS leaders published formal notices in November detailing how they plan to use Medicaid data for immigration purposes.

“The sharing of such information is clearly authorized by law, and the agencies have adequately explained their decisions,” Chhabria wrote in his updated ruling Monday.

While undocumented immigrants are not eligible to enroll in federal Medicaid programs, some states allow people to receive state-funded benefits regardless of immigration status. These states include California, Illinois, Colorado, New York, Washington, Oregon, and Minnesota, as well as Washington, D.C.

Chharbria’s order covers six categories of basic personal information, including citizenship, immigration status, address, phone number, date of birth, and Medicaid ID, according to Courthouse News Service. However, the judge sided with the states regarding data beyond basic information. According to the judge’s ruling, the Trump administration is only allowed to share Medicaid data about people unlawfully living in the United States. This means ICE cannot access personal information collected from other immigrants receiving Medicaid.

In addition, ICE and HHS remain barred from sharing personal health records and other potentially sensitive medical information for immigration enforcement under the judge’s preliminary injunction. Chhabria said the agencies did not provide a compelling reason for exchanging such information. California and other states argued that sharing this information would violate health privacy laws.

The California Attorney General’s Office told Courthouse News that it is disappointed with the judge’s decision.

“When individuals signed up for Medi-Cal, they did so with the understanding that their data would not be used for purposes unrelated to administering the program,” a spokesperson told Courthouse News Service. “The Trump administration’s effort to use Medicaid data for immigration enforcement is a violation of their trust and will lead to fewer people seeking vital health care, harming the overall health of our communities and increasing public health costs to the state.”