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This article was first published in Truthout on July 17, 2025. It is shared here with permission.
Reports indicate that the Trump administration is providing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with the personal details of all 79 million Medicaid participants, granting significant power to the agency as it impacts communities nationwide.
The data shared includes names, addresses, ethnicity, race, birthdates, and Social Security numbers of Medicaid participants, as per an agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security. This arrangement was reported by the Associated Press.
The agreement specifies that ICE cannot download the data and may only access it from 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday, until September 9. However, the Trump administration has previously faced legal challenges from states over sharing Medicaid data with ICE, arguing that the laws protecting such data are clear.
The agreement claims the data sharing aims to assist ICE in locating “aliens” in the U.S. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, stated that the agreement is intended to ensure that illegal immigrants do not receive Medicaid benefits meant for law-abiding citizens.
Importantly, undocumented immigrants cannot enroll in Medicaid, and other immigrants must meet specific criteria to qualify. Conservatives have long alleged widespread fraud in Medicaid and other welfare programs, but there is no evidence supporting these claims.
Moreover, there is no need to give ICE access to investigate fraud, as Medicaid fraud investigators are already present in every state and territory for this purpose.
Using fraud and unauthorized immigration as justifications, Trump administration officials have worked diligently 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 individuals from enrolling in Medicaid initially.
By focusing on Medicaid, the Trump administration is targeting some of the poorest individuals in the U.S. Medicaid provides health care coverage for households earning around or below the poverty line, as well as people unable to work due to certain disabilities.
“It’s unimaginable that CMS would breach the trust of Medicaid participants in this manner,” said Hannah Katch, a former CMS adviser, to the Associated Press.
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