California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading a coalition of 20 state attorneys general in a new lawsuit against the Trump administration filed Tuesday. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
"In doing so, the Trump administration silently destroyed longstanding guardrails that protected the public’s sensitive health data and restricted its use only for purposes that Congress has authorized, violating federal laws including the requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)," the lawsuit says. The complaint alleges violations of several other federal privacy laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, known as HIPPA.
HHS has claimed that the transfer of data to DHS is meant "to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them."
"But Congress itself extended coverage and federal funds for emergency Medicaid to all individuals residing in the United States, even those who lack satisfactory immigration status," the complaint says. "The States have and will continue to verify individuals’ eligibility for federally funded Medicaid services using established federal systems and cooperate with federal oversight activities to ensure that the federal government pays only for those Medicaid services that are legally authorized."
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 the suit.
"President Trump, Secretary Kristi Noem and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are weaponizing Medicaid to fuel their anti-immigration campaign," Bonta said at a virtual press conference. "They’re threatening the personal health data of 78.4 million individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid and the children’s health insurance program, CHIP, for their mass surveillance and federal immigration enforcement plans."
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee on June 24, 2025. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
"States will also ultimately bear the negative public health costs associated with reduced utilization of healthcare for childbirth and other emergency conditions," the complaint says. "Meanwhile, the public will suffer irreparable damage due to increased morbidity and mortality."
Bonta noted California’s Medi-Cal program provides public healthcare coverage for one out of every three Californians, including more than two million noncitizens. Because not all noncitizens are eligible for federally funded Medi-Cal services, California uses state-only funds to provide a version of the Medi-Cal program to all eligible state residents, "regardless of their immigration status," he said.
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"The Trump Administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE. In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care," Bonta added in a statement. "I’m sickened by this latest salvo in the President’s anti-immigrant campaign. 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."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/california-sues-trump-admin-again-time-over-medicaid-data-transfer-dhs