The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Minnesota and a multistate coalition a preliminary injunction in response to their July 1 lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s illegal sharing of Medicaid data, known in Minnesota as Medical Assistance, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The injunction found that the multistate coalition was likely to succeed on its claim that the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) decision to provide unfettered access to individual personal health data to DHS, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s prohibition on arbitrary and capricious actions by federal agencies.

The preliminary injunction blocks DHS from using Medicaid data obtained from plaintiff states for immigration enforcement purposes, and blocks HHS from sharing Medicaid data obtained from coalition states with DHS for immigration enforcement purposes. The preliminary injunction will remain in place until either 14 days after HHS and DHS complete a reasoned decision-making process that complies with the Administrative Procedure Act, or until litigation concludes.

“I am pleased to have won a court order blocking Donald Trump from using Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes. This unprecedented decision was made without notice and without regard to longstanding protections for patient data. The climate of fear this action created will likely cause people to forego necessary and authorized medical care and that is unacceptable. My goal is not to sue President Trump and his administration, it is to defend the rule and fairness and help all Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety and respect. However, I will take the President and his administration to court as often as I must to uphold the rule of law and protect the people of Minnesota.” – AG Ellison