Twenty States Sue Trump Administration Over Medicaid Data Transfer to Homeland Security

California and 19 other states filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleging the Trump administration unlawfully gave the Department of Homeland Security access to Medicaid recipients’ personal health information. The complaint, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, names the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as defendants.

According to the 54-page filing, HHS directed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to transfer a large data set on 10 June 2025 that contained names, addresses, Social Security numbers, immigration status and claims records for millions of enrollees in California, Illinois, Washington state and Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs say the information is being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to locate people for deportation, violating the Privacy Act, HIPAA and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The coalition seeks an injunction blocking any further transfers, an order requiring DHS to destroy data already received, and a declaration that the policy is unlawful. Bonta said the release endangers the confidentiality of roughly 78 million Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries and could deter eligible residents from seeking emergency care.

HHS defended the hand-over, saying inter-agency sharing is permitted and is intended to ensure Medicaid dollars reach only legally eligible recipients. CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz has launched a wider review of state rolls he says is aimed at curbing waste and fraud.

The action is the 28th lawsuit California has brought against the Trump administration this year and comes amid stepped-up federal efforts to align immigration enforcement with access to federal benefits, underscoring renewed tension between the White House and Democratic-led states over privacy and immigration policy.