Overview
- U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria authorized ICE to obtain six fields of basic information on certain Medicaid enrollees: address, citizenship or immigration status, phone number, date of birth, and Medicaid ID.
- The court barred disclosure of any broader categories of data, faulting the agencies for unclear policies and raising concerns about requests that could sweep in citizens or lawful residents in mixed-status households.
- The order applies to people the government already knows are unlawfully present, and CMS says it will provide only the minimum required information.
- The decision partially lifts an earlier injunction obtained by a coalition of Democratic-led states; access is slated to begin January 6 following a short administrative stay and a possible Friday hearing.
- CMS historically avoided sharing Medicaid data with immigration authorities but began doing so in June and formalized a July agreement with DHS covering a program that serves roughly 79 million people, drawing objections from state attorneys general.