Judge: ICE can use limited Medicaid data for enforcement

Dec. 30 (UPI) — A federal judge ruled that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials can access Medicaid data to find immigrants who are in the United States illegally.

By law, undocumented immigrants can’t access Medicaid benefits, though some states have state-funded plans for everyone.

In July, 20 states filed a lawsuit challenging the policy of the Department of Health and Human Services allowing the Department of Homeland Security “unfettered access” to Medicaid health data.

The states are asking the court to declare that HHS’s transfer of Medicaid data to DHS is unauthorized and block its use for the purposes of immigration enforcement.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria partly denied the states’ request for a preliminary injunction on Monday. He said “basic biographical, location, and contact information” is legal. But he left the injunction in place for any medical information.

“We are disappointed in the court’s decision allowing for the sharing of some Medicaid data with ICE,” the office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Monday. “Though we are gratified that the court enjoined DHS’s broader efforts to obtain more sensitive health data; data of citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other people with lawful status; and data from other [Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services] administered health programs.”

A California Department of Justice spokesperson said in a statement after the ruling that people signed up for Medicaid with the understanding that their personal information would be used only for Medicaid.

“The Trump Administration’s effort to use Medicaid data for immigration enforcement is a violation of their trust and will lead to fewer people seeking vital healthcare,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

Chhabria’s order only allows ICE to see six categories of basic personal information: citizenship, immigration status, address, phone number, date of birth and Medicaid ID. And it can only see data from those living in the United States illegally.

Chhabria’s order will stay in place until a final decision is made in the case.

The court set a hearing for Friday, if needed, court documents said.