Federal Judge Halts DHS from Using Medicaid Data for Immigration Enforcement in Landmark Ruling

In a significant legal decision, a federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction preventing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from using Medicaid data for immigration enforcement, a practice that has raised serious privacy concerns. The ruling also stops the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from sharing such data with DHS, with the judge declaring that the plaintiff states are likely to win based on the argument that this action breached the Administrative Procedure Act’s ban on arbitrary and capricious agency activities, as reported by the Attorney General's Office.

Attorney General Nick Brown emphasized the critical importance of safeguarding private health information. "Protecting people’s private health information is vitally important," Brown stated, according to a news release. "And everyone should be able to seek medical care without fear of what the federal government may do with that information." This injunction will last until HHS and DHS can provide a decision-making process that follows the Administrative Procedure Act, or until the court battle is over.

This step was part of a joint effort from 20 states, led by California, to safeguard their residents. Washington joined the multistate lawsuit on July 1, which sought to put an end to the transfer or use of Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes. The states involved argued that the Trump administration's handling of Medicaid data not only broke the law but also spread fear, discouraging legal noncitizens from enrolling in emergency Medicaid. This hesitancy imposes a financial burden on states and their hospitals for providing federally mandated emergency health care services that should be supported by federal funds.

Washington's Medicaid program, known as Apple Health, is designed to ensure that personal information remains confidential and is only used to facilitate health care delivery. With Apple Health encompassing a variety of services, including primary and preventative care, long-term supports, and behavioral health, the stakes are high for more than 1.9 million clients. This includes approximately 49,000 individuals whose immigration status makes them ineligible for certain federal programs, yet who still rely on the state for essential medical services, as noted by the same news release.

The coalition challenging the data sharing includes attorneys general from a wide swath of states, such as Arizona, California, and Massachusetts, to regions as diverse as Hawaiʻi and Maine.