Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

18 hours ago

Netanyahu Under Mounting Political Pressure After Party Quits

18 hours ago

Wall Street Opens Higher After Inflation, Bank Results

19 hours ago

Sick of Loud Ads on Netflix? A Proposed California Law Turns Down the Volume

2 days ago

Record Numbers of Americans Say Immigration Is Good for Country: Gallup Poll

2 days ago

In California Strawberry Fields, Immigration Raids Sow Fear

2 days ago

Newsom’s Office Attacks Stephen Miller, Calling Him a ‘Fascist Cuck’

2 days ago

Trump’s Spending Bill Will Likely Boost Costs for Insurers, Shrink Medicaid Coverage

2 days ago
Gov. Newsom Lambasts Trump for Giving Immigrants’ Health Data to Deportation Officials
gvw_calmatters
By CalMatters
Published 4 weeks ago on
June 16, 2025

Benefits counselor Perla Lopez assists an undocumented adult at St. John’s Community Health in Los Angeles in December of 2023. (Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters.

By Kristen Hwang

CalMatters

Calling the move “legally dubious” and an “abuse,” Gov. Gavin Newsom Friday heavily criticized the Trump administration after reports surfaced that personal medical information — including immigration status — is being shared with deportation officials.

The governor’s comments come as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids are being held in parts of downtown Los Angeles for the eighth day in a row.

According to the Associated Press, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to give the Department of Homeland Security immigration and other medical data for millions of non-citizens. The data transfer includes information about California enrollees and other states that allow immigrants without legal status to enroll in health services, according to the AP.

The order overturns longstanding federal policy that prohibits the agency that oversees the nation’s publicly operated health programs from sharing private enrollee data with other federal agencies.

During the first Trump administration, many groups that assist people with Medi-Cal enrollment reported high levels of mistrust of government programs and declining enrollment because of the fear that it could be used to refuse citizenship applications or initiate deportation proceedings.

“Sharing Medicaid beneficiary information with the Department of Homeland Security – which is itself legally dubious – will jeopardize the safety, health, and security of those who will undoubtedly be targeted by this abuse, and Americans more broadly,” Newsom said in a statement.

In a letter sent to states last month, Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said he was putting states “on notice” that he would no longer allow “federal dollars to be diverted” for immigrant health care.

“Medicaid is not, and cannot be, a backdoor pathway to subsidize open borders,” Oz said in a news release accompanying the letter.

Trump administration officials, including Oz, have previously claimed without evidence that states like California are illegally using federal money to pay for immigrant health care.

Newsom’s office confirmed that the state’s Medicaid agency, the Department of Health Care Services, responded earlier this year to a federal data request to show that the state was not improperly using federal funds, which cannot be used to pay for health services for immigrants without legal status.

Six other states and the District of Columbia allow immigrants to enroll in some state-funded health programs, but none are as expansive as California’s. All states are required to provide emergency Medicaid to immigrants.

California currently uses more than $8.5 billion in annual state revenue to provide coverage to about 1.6 million immigrants through Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid.

Across the state, organizations representing doctors, community clinics, other health providers and patients condemned the sharing of personal data with immigration enforcement.

Dr. Shannon Udovic-Constant, president of the California Medical Association, called the Trump administration’s actions “reckless.”

“We strongly support access to health care for all and are deeply disturbed to learn that the federal government is no longer protecting patient privacy and is misusing Medicaid data in ways that will make people less safe and less likely to seek medically necessary health care,” Udovic-Constant said in a statement.

The National Health Law Program, a legal nonprofit,  said federal law protects the confidentiality of personally identifying and health information. In sharing the data with immigration enforcement, the Trump administration is “running roughshod over bedrock legal protections,” the statement said.

“Medicaid exists to ensure access to lifesaving health care,” said Kim Lewis, the law program’s director of California policy. “People who need health care should be able to get it without fear of ICE raids.”

State Sen. Jesse Arreguín, a Democrat from Oakland, said the implications of federal officials sharing medical information with law enforcement go far beyond immigration enforcement — they could impact people’s medical privacy rights for transgender care and abortion services.

Arreguín is pushing a measure to safeguard patients at health facilities after the Trump administration rescinded a Biden-era policy that limited ICE activity in schools, churches and hospitals.  The measure would require health facilities to bar immigration enforcement from entering non-public areas without a warrant and require them to train personnel how to respond.

“Healthcare is a human right, and anyone should be able to seek access without worrying that their privacy will be violated,” he said.

Newsom’s office did not say whether it planned to sue to block the use of Medicaid data for immigration enforcement. But spokesperson Elana Ross said in a statement that the administration would “explore all avenues to protect Californians’ information and safety.”

California officials, including the Department of Health Care Services, have long reassured immigrants without legal status that their data would not be shared with federal agencies for immigration enforcement.

The state health care services department refused to answer questions about sending information to the federal government, instead directing CalMatters to Newsom’s statement.

Supported by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), which works to ensure that people have access to the care they need, when they need it, at a price they can afford. Visit www.chcf.org to learn more.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

So Your Doctor Is a DO. Does That Matter?

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Found Dead After Hike Near Courtright Reservoir

DON'T MISS

Former US Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Phone Company Hacking, Extortion Case

DON'T MISS

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

DON'T MISS

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

DON'T MISS

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

DON'T MISS

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

DON'T MISS

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Mexico Pledges Action Should US Talks Fail by August Tariff Deadline

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Armed Man Found Asleep in Car

UP NEXT

Fresno Man Found Dead After Hike Near Courtright Reservoir

UP NEXT

Former US Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Phone Company Hacking, Extortion Case

UP NEXT

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

UP NEXT

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

UP NEXT

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

UP NEXT

Mexico Pledges Action Should US Talks Fail by August Tariff Deadline

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Arrest Armed Man Found Asleep in Car

UP NEXT

Trump Says Democratic Rival Schiff Should Be ‘Brought to Justice’ for Alleged Fraud

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

10 hours ago

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

10 hours ago

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

10 hours ago

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

10 hours ago

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

11 hours ago

Mexico Pledges Action Should US Talks Fail by August Tariff Deadline

11 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Armed Man Found Asleep in Car

11 hours ago

Trump Says Democratic Rival Schiff Should Be ‘Brought to Justice’ for Alleged Fraud

12 hours ago

Madera County Authorities Seeks Help Finding Missing Bass Lake Man

12 hours ago

Crypto Bills Hit Procedural Snag in Congress

13 hours ago

So Your Doctor Is a DO. Does That Matter?

By most measures, osteopathic medicine is a profession in its prime. The number of doctors of osteopathic medicine, or DOs, has grown 70% in...

9 hours ago

The number of osteopathic doctors has increased dramatically. People still don’t know what they are. (Sonia Pulido/The New York Times)
9 hours ago

So Your Doctor Is a DO. Does That Matter?

9 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead After Hike Near Courtright Reservoir

A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Former US Army Soldier Pleads Guilty in Phone Company Hacking, Extortion Case

10 hours ago

Fresno City Attorney Briefly Ineligible to Practice Law, Cites State Bar Error

A grass fire east of Sanger burned 21 acres Tuesday, July 15, 2025, afternoon before being contained, CalFire said. (CalFire)
10 hours ago

Grass Fire East of Sanger Contained at 21 Acres, CalFire Says

10 hours ago

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

Jack Posobiec, a far-right political activist, carries a binder labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” as he exits the White House in Washington, Feb. 27, 2025. Here’s what to know about the disturbing facts and unsubstantiated suspicions that make Jeffrey Epstein, a registered sex offender, a politically potent obsession. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)
10 hours ago

What to Know About the Epstein Files, a Perfect Recipe for Conspiracy Theories

A demonstrator raises his hand holding flowers as members of the National Guard stand in formation outside a federal building during the No Kings protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's policies, in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 14, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 hours ago

US Military to Remove 2,000 National Guard Troops From Los Angeles

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend