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California leads a coalition with 19 other states. Trump administration It houses the US Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) to transfer Medicaid data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta said the federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Northern District of California will represent California’s challenge to the president in court for 23 weeks or more, or more than twice a week.
“Based on information and belief, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) handed over a horde of protected health data for individuals obtained from the state. Including California, “The lawsuit states,” Illinois and Washington told other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
These states allow non-US citizens to enroll in the Medicaid program and say they use only state taxpayer dollars to pay the fee. Last month, The Associated Press first reported that data sharing by the HHS would include address, name, Social Security number, immigration status, and billing data for those states’ enrollment.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta is heading a coalition of 20 state attorney generals in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday against the Trump administration. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“In doing so, the Trump administration quietly destroys long-standing guardrails that protect sensitive health data from its citizens and restrict use only for purposes approved by Congress, and violates federal laws, including requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA),” the lawsuit states. The complaint alleges violations of several other federal privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as Hippa.
HHS argues that the transfer of data to the DHS “means that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are entitled to receive them.”
“However, Congress itself has expanded emergency Medicaid compensation and federal funding to all individuals living in the United States, even those who lack satisfactory immigration status,” the complaint states. “The state continues to verify individual eligibility for federally funded Medicaid services using established federal systems and is working with federal oversight activities to ensure that the federal government pays only legally approved Medicaid services.”
Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington have filed lawsuits.
“President Trump, Chief Christie Noem Chief Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Bonta said at a virtual press conference. “They are threatening the personal health data of 78.4 million individuals registered with Medicaid and CHIP, a child health insurance program, due to extensive surveillance and federal immigration enforcement plans,” Bonta said.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem will be attending a roundtable discussion after touring an immigration detention center called “Aligator Alcatraz” at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in O’Coupe, Florida on July 1, 2025. (via Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Getty Images)
“This is not about reducing waste or committing fraud,” Bonta said. “This is chasing vulnerable people who have entrusted the state and federal government to support access to health care, a fundamental human right.”
The complaint states that it intends to protect the state’s Medicaid program and prevent them from being used for the services. Anti-immigrant crusades, or any other purpose not related to the management of these programs. ”
Under Dr. Mehmet Oz’s leadership, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “is actively cracking down on states that misuse federal Medicaid funds to assist in the care of illegal immigrants, including California.” “This surveillance effort, supported by legal inter-agency data sharing with DHS, focuses on identifying waste, fraud, and systemic abuse.”
“HHS acted entirely within its legal authority. That Medicaid benefits Nixon added. “We’re not only protecting taxpayer dollars, but we’re just restoring credibility in one of America’s most important programs. Americans deserve accountability. HHS offers that.”
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“The plaintiffs argue that the fear and confusion caused by disclosure will lose federal funds as non-citizens and their families will either register with Emergency Medicaid that they otherwise qualify, or refuse to register, and refuse to register to hire the state and its safety net hospitals to hire bills for federally mandated emergency medical services.”
HHS Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee on June 24, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“The state will also ultimately bear negative public health costs associated with reduced health care use for childbirth and other emergencies,” the complaint states. “On the other hand, the public is subject to irreparable damage due to increased morbidity and mortality.”
Bonta noted that California’s Medi-Cal program offers public health insurance coverage for one in one of three Californians, including more than two million non-citizens. Because not all non-citizens are eligible for federally funded Medi-Cal services, California will use state-only funds to provide a version of the MEDI-CAL program to all eligible state residents “regardless of their immigration status.”
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“The Trump administration overturned years of privacy protections with its decision to illegally share ice and sensitive personal health data. In doing so, it created a culture of fear that leads to fewer people seeking critical emergency care,” Bonta added in a statement. “I’m tired of this latest salvo in the president’s anti-immigration campaign. I’m heading to court to prevent further sharing of Medicaid data, making sure that data that has already been shared is not being used for immigration enforcement purposes.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
