On July 1, 2025, California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit in the Northern District of California against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem for illegally transmitting a trove of protected health data obtained from residents of the plaintiff states to other federal agencies without residents’ consent or knowledge under the guise of rooting out alleged fraud by undocumented immigrants.

The attorneys general argue that this mass transfer of private health information from HHS to DHS, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), violates the Medicaid Act of 1965 (Medicaid Act), which established the Medicaid program. The Medicaid Act mandates that the personal healthcare data that the program collects on its beneficiaries is confidential and to be shared only in certain narrow circumstances that benefit public health and the integrity of Medicaid itself. This statutory requirement has always been reflected in past federal policy and practice. The new agency interpretation to allow use of personal data for the wholly unrelated purpose of immigration raids was undertaken without proper notice.

The attorney general coalition asks the court to block any new transfers of data or use for immigration enforcement purposes.

The Trump Administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE. In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care. I’m sickened by this latest salvo in the President’ 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. Attorney General Rob Bonta