California has launched another attack on the Trump Administration over its use of Medicaid data to aid the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in locating illegal immigrants, which Democrat Attorney General Rob Bonta claimed was a violation of federal law.
For background, on July 1, 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced that he was taking the lead in a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for providing “unfettered access” to Medicaid data for Homeland Security and ICE to use for immigration enforcement. Attorney General Bonta described himself as “sickened” by what he said was the “latest salvo in the president’s anti-immigrant campaign.”
Announcing the lawsuit in a July 1 press release, Attorney General Bonta argued that the use of personal healthcare data by DHS and ICE “violates the law,” adding that he was asking the court to “block any new transfer or use of this data for immigration enforcement purposes.” Moreover, AG Bonta said that the Trump Administration had “upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE.”
Continuing, the attorney general said that through its sharing of Medicaid data, HHS “has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care.” He added, “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.”
In addition, the complaint filed by AG Bonta said that HHS “handed over a trove of individuals’ protected health data obtained from States, including California, Illinois, and Washington, to other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” adding, “Millions of individuals’ health information was transferred without their consent, and in violation of federal law.”
Furthermore, the complaint argued that the Trump Administration had “silently destroyed longstanding guardrails that protected the public’s sensitive health data,” going on to accuse HHS of violating HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. However, according to press accounts, HHS said that its transfer of data to DHS was meant “to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them.”
Additionally, during a virtual press conference, AG Bonta reportedly accused President Trump, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of “weaponizing Medicaid to fuel their anti-immigration campaign.” He continued, “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.”
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Building on his point, the attorney general said that the Trump Administration was not focused on “cutting waste or going after fraud,” instead accusing President Trump and his Cabinet of “going after vulnerable people who entrusted the state and the federal government to help them access health care, a basic human right.”
Featured image credit: Attorney General Rob Bonta via X