Trump Administration Released Medicaid Enrollee Data to Deportation Officials, Internal Memos Reveal

The Trump administration secretly ordered the release of personal information—such as immigration status—of millions of Medicaid enrollees to federal deportation authorities, according to internal documents obtained by the Associated Press.

The internal memos reveal that officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) were given just 54 minutes to comply with the directive, which came from top advisers to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Despite voicing legal and ethical concerns, CMS transferred the data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

The information included detailed records from states such as California, Illinois, Washington State, and Washington, D.C. — all of which allow non-citizens legal access to certain state-funded Medicaid programs. The unprecedented move is raising alarm among immigration and privacy experts.

“This goes beyond bureaucratic overreach — it weaponizes healthcare data to fuel deportation efforts,” said Dr. Elena Rodriguez, an immigration policy analyst. “It undermines trust in public health systems and could discourage vulnerable populations from seeking care.”

Legal experts also warn that the data could be used to deny green cards or naturalization under “public charge” grounds — a policy previously used by the Trump administration to bar immigrants who used public benefits.

While federal officials have not confirmed whether DHS acted on the data, the memo's existence suggests coordination between health and immigration authorities at the highest levels.

The disclosure has reignited debates over privacy, immigration policy, and the role of healthcare institutions in federal enforcement operations.

Civil rights organizations are now calling for investigations and legislative safeguards to prevent such data sharing in the future.

“This action sets a dangerous precedent,” said ACLU legal director Noor Hussain. “People seeking medical care should never have to worry that their information could be turned over to immigration enforcement.”

The Department of Homeland Security has not issued a formal statement regarding the memo or the data transfer as of this writing.