President Donald Trump‘s administration provided immigration officials with the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients this week, including their immigration status, the Associated Press reported.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for comment on Saturday via online press inquiry forms.
Why It Matters
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump pledged to carry out the largest mass deportation program in U.S. history. Since returning to office on January 20, the president has overseen widespread Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations across the country.
The administration’s use of Medicaid data, which could be used to track migrants, has raised questions about data security and federal government power.
What To Know
Citing an internal memo and emails, the AP reported that two close advisers to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered officials at the CMS to transfer Medicaid data to immigration enforcement personnel at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday.
The publication said the order was given after Medicaid employees initially sought to prevent the transfer based on legal and ethical concerns, and that they were given 54 minutes to comply with the renewed request.
The information handed over included data from California, Washington state, Illinois and Washington, D.C.—all of which allow non-U.S. citizens to apply for state-funded Medicaid.
SAUL LOEB/AFP/GETTY
DHS employees’ use of the data could affect migrants’ ability to apply for permanent residency or citizenship if they have received federally funded Medicaid.
Under the Trump administration’s direction, the Internal Revenue Service has also been providing information to ICE that could help track illegal migrants. A legal bid to block the order was defeated in May.
Last month, the CMS announced a review into Medicaid enrollment to ensure federal money had not been used to fund coverage for those with “unsatisfactory immigration status.”
The agency said the move was to comply with the “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders” executive order that Trump issued on February 19.
What People Are Saying
Andrew Nixon, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, said in statement provided to Newsweek: “HHS and CMS take the integrity of the Medicaid program and the protection of American taxpayer dollars extremely seriously. With respect to the recent data sharing between CMS and DHS, HHS acted entirely within its legal authority—and in full compliance with all applicable laws—to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.
He continued: “This action is not unprecedented. What is unprecedented is the systemic neglect and policy failures under the Biden-Harris administration that opened the floodgates for illegal immigrants to exploit Medicaid—and forced hardworking Americans to foot the bill.”
Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary for public affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said Trump had “promised to protect Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries. To keep that promise after Joe Biden flooded our country with tens of millions of illegal aliens CMS and DHS are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom said: “This potential data transfer brought to our attention by the AP is extremely concerning, and if true, potentially unlawful, particularly given numerous headlines highlighting potential improper federal use of personal information and federal actions to target the personal information of Americans.”
What Happens Next
The Trump administration is expected to continue its hard-line immigration policies. It remains to be seen whether the transfer of data from the HHS to the DHS will be challenged in court.