The personal health information of 79 million people will soon be in the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials, who will use the data trove to find undocumented migrants in the U.S. amid President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
ICE plans to use the nation’s Medicaid database to “receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE,” according to an agreement obtained by The Associated Press.
Information available to ICE officials will include:
Addresses
Birthdates
Ethnic and racial information
Social Security numbers
The agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not allow ICE officials to download the data.
Instead, officials will be allowed to access the data for a limited period from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Sept. 9.
Medicaid is only available to noncitizens in emergencies
While immigrants who have entered and remained in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for Medicaid, every state is required to provide emergency Medicaid coverage for life-saving situations. Some states also make exceptions for children and certain adults.
That means, despite not qualifying for the federally funded coverage, some noncitizens’ information is still available in Medicaid records.
The Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) estimated that emergency care for undocumented patients accounted for less than 1 percent of Medicaid spending from 2017 to 2023.
Democrats, advocates slam ICE-Medicaid data disclosure
Politicians and immigrant advocates alike have opposed the agreement due to concerns over data privacy and human rights violations.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Thursday on social media that “the massive transfer of the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients should alarm every American.”
Immigration attorney Anibal Romero echoed Schiff’s concerns.
“So eventually, what could end up happening is someone might transfer information about … a U.S. citizen, with a Latino name, and all of a sudden, now I have ICE officers in my house, even though I was born here only because my name is Raul Lopez,” Romero told NewsNation. “So, it’s scary. I think it’s wrong.”
Early this month, a coalition of 20 Democrat-led states sued the Trump administration over the agreement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said it has “created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care.”
“We’re headed to court to prevent any further sharing of Medicaid data — and to ensure any of the data that’s already been shared is not used for immigration enforcement purposes,” he added.
In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said the agencies are “exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.”
The White House has deferred questions about the agreement to ICE.
NewsNation’s Anna Kutz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
