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Emigration and immigration

ICE Gains Access to Personal Data of 79 Million Medicaid Users

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have been given access to the personal data of the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the United States. The data includes names, addresses, birth dates, ethnic and racial information, as well as Social Security numbers for all people enrolled in Medicaid. This move is part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which has repeatedly tested legal boundaries in its effort to arrest 3,000 people daily. Lawmakers and some CMS officials have challenged the legality of deportation officials' access to some states' Medicaid enrollee data.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have signed an agreement that allows ICE officials to access the personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees.
  • The data includes names, addresses, birth dates, ethnic and racial information, as well as Social Security numbers for all people enrolled in Medicaid.
  • ICE officials will use the CMS data to allow ICE to receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE.
  • The agreement has not been announced publicly and has been met with resistance from lawmakers and some CMS officials who challenge the legality of deportation officials' access to some states' Medicaid enrollee data.
  • The data-sharing agreement is part of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, which aims to arrest 3,000 people daily.
  • The database will reveal to ICE officials the location of aliens across the country.
  • The Department of Homeland Security's assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, has stated that the two agencies are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans.
  • Twenty states have since sued over the move, alleging it violated federal health privacy laws.

Sources:

  • The Associated Press (AP)
  • The AP article reference (no date)
  • Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
  • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • Health and Human Services (HHS)
  • Twenty states (source not explicitly stated)
  • Statement from Tricia McLaughlin
  • Statement from Andrew Nixon (HHS spokesman)
  • Email chain obtained by the AP between CMS officials
  • Letter from Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff

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