This article was initially published in Truthout on July 17, 2025. It is shared here with permission.
The Trump administration is reportedly providing the personal details of all 79 million Medicaid participants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), granting significant power to the agency as it impacts communities nationwide.
The information includes names, addresses, ethnicity, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of Medicaid participants, according to an agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security. The agreement was reported by the Associated Press.
The deal states that ICE cannot download the data and can only access it from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, until September 9. However, the Trump administration has previously faced lawsuits from states over sharing Medicaid data with ICE, arguing that the laws protecting such data are clear.
The agreement indicates that the data sharing is intended to help ICE locate “aliens” in the U.S. The Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated that the agreement aims to ensure illegal aliens do not receive Medicaid benefits meant for law-abiding citizens.
Importantly, undocumented immigrants cannot enroll in Medicaid, and other immigrants must meet certain qualifications to be eligible. Conservatives have long claimed widespread fraud in Medicaid and other welfare programs, but there is no evidence to support these claims.
Moreover, there is no need to give ICE access to the data for fraud investigations, as Medicaid fraud investigators exist in every state and territory to handle such matters.
Using fraud and unauthorized immigration as justifications, Trump administration officials have worked relentlessly to expand the police state—replacing public services designed to assist working-class Americans with law enforcement officers who enjoy anonymity and impunity.
Republicans have used false claims about fraud and immigration to support their key budget bill, which will remove millions of Americans from Medicaid coverage when the cuts take effect in 2027. Consequently, some Medicaid recipients may be targeted by the Trump administration due to the data-sharing agreement and later lose their essential benefits.
Additionally, fear of racial profiling or surveillance from the data-sharing agreement may deter people from enrolling in Medicaid.
By focusing on Medicaid, the Trump administration targets some of the poorest individuals in the U.S. Medicaid provides health care coverage for households around or below the poverty line and those unable to work due to certain disabilities.
“It’s unimaginable that CMS would breach the trust of Medicaid enrollees in this manner,” said Hannah Katch, a former CMS adviser, to the Associated Press.