20 states challenge HHS' transfer of Medicaid data to DHS
According to the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the states are asking the court to declare HHS' transfer of Medicaid data to DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was unauthorized and enjoin its use for the purposes of immigration enforcement. They are also seeking to prevent any further sharing of Medicaid data.
"The Trump administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE," California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement. "In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care."
The lawsuit states that on June 13, the plaintiff states learned that HHS had transferred to DHS en mass Medicaid files from California, Illinois and Washington.
The states said the data transferred was personally identifiable, not anonymized and included Medicaid beneficiaries' immigration status and addresses among other information.
According to the lawsuit, HHS provided neither the states nor the Medicaid beneficiaries with warning or notice of the transfer and the department has not identified the legal authorities under which it shared the personal Medicaid data with DHS.
HHS has said, the lawsuit states, that it gave the information to DHS "to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them" but Congress has permitted coverage and federal fund for emergency Medicaid to all residents of the United States, including those without immigration status.
Among the consequences of the sharing of this information is that it could lead to noncitizens disenrolling or refusing to enroll in emergency Medicaid, which they are eligible for, thereby denying them healthcare they may need.
"The Trump administration's use of Washingtonians' private health information for its own political agenda is outrageous," Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a statement.
"This is a violation of trust for everyone whose data was inappropriately shared, but especially our immigrant communities and mixed-status families, who are already being targeted by the Trump administration.
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The Hill
30 minutes ago
- The Hill
US tariffs on European goods threaten to shake up the world's largest 2-way trade relationship
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — America's largest trade partner, the European Union, is among the entities awaiting word Monday on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will impose punishing tariffs on their goods, a move economists have warned would have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations. Expressing displeasure the EU's stance in trade talks, however, the president said he would jack up the tariff rate for European exports to 50%. A rate that high could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals much more expensive in the U.S. The EU, whose 27 member nations operate as a single economic bloc, said its leaders hoped to strike a deal with the Trump administration. Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. Here are important things to know about trade between the United States and the European Union. A lot of money is at stake in the trade talks. The EU's executive commission describes the trade between the U.S. and the EU as 'the most important commercial relationship in the world.' The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. The biggest U.S. export to Europe is crude oil, followed by pharmaceuticals, aircraft, automobiles, and medical and diagnostic equipment. Europe's biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits. Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro ($233 billion) trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more stuff from European businesses than the other way around. However, American companies fill some of the gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. The U.S. services surplus took the nation's trade deficit with the EU down to 50 billion euros ($59 billion), which represents less than 3% of overall U.S.-EU trade. Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained a generally cooperative trade relationship and low tariff levels on both sides. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products. But the White House has taken a much less friendly posture toward the longstanding U.S. ally since February. Along with the fluctuating tariff rate on European goods Trump has floated, the EU has been subject to his administration's 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tax on imported automobiles and parts. Trump administration officials have raised a slew of issues they want to see addressed, including agricultural barriers such as EU health regulations that include bans on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef. Trump has also criticized Europe's value-added taxes, which EU countries levy at the point of sale this year at rates of 17% to 27%. But many economists see VAT as trade-neutral since they apply to domestic goods and services as well as imported ones. Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they aren't on the table during trade negotiations. 'On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground,' Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany's Berenberg bank, said. 'They cannot change the way they run the EU's vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works.' Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo 'significant increases' in coming years. Simon Hunt, CEO of Italian wine and spirits producer Campari Group, told investment analysts that prices could increase for some products or stay the same depending what rival companies do. If competitors raise prices, the company might decide to hold its prices on Skyy vodka or Aperol aperitif to gain market share, Hunt said. Trump has argued that making it more difficult for foreign companies to sell in the U.S. is a way to stimulate a revival of American manufacturing. Many companies have dismissed the idea or said it would take years to yield positive economic benefits. However, some corporations have proved willing to shift some production stateside. France-based luxury group LVMH, whose brands include Tiffany & Co., Luis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon, could move some production to the United States, billionaire CEO Bernaud Arnault said at the company's annual meeting in April. Arnault, who attended Trump's inauguration, has urged Europe to reach a deal based on reciprocal concessions. 'If we end up with high tariffs, … we will be forced to increase our U.S.-based production to avoid tariffs,' Arnault said. 'And if Europe fails to negotiate intelligently, that will be the consequence for many companies. … It will be the fault of Brussels, if it comes to that.' Some forecasts indicate the U.S. economy would be more at risk if the negotiations fail. Without a deal, the EU would lose 0.3% of its gross domestic product and U.S. GDP would fall 0.7%, if Trump slaps imported goods from Europe with tariffs of 10% to 25%, according to a research review by Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels. Given the complexity of some of the issues, the two sides may arrive only at a framework deal before Wednesday's deadline. That would likely leave a 10% base tariff, as well as the auto, steel and aluminum tariffs in place until details of a formal trade agreement are ironed out. The most likely outcome of the trade talks is that 'the U.S. will agree to deals in which it takes back its worst threats of 'retaliatory' tariffs well beyond 10%,' Schmieding said. 'However, the road to get there could be rocky.' The U.S. offering exemptions for some goods might smooth the path to a deal. The EU could offer to ease some regulations that the White House views as trade barriers. 'While Trump might be able to sell such an outcome as a 'win' for him, the ultimate victims of his protectionism would, of course, be mostly the U.S. consumers,' Schmieding said.
San Francisco Chronicle
35 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
US tariffs on European goods threaten to shake up the world's largest 2-way trade relationship
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — America's largest trade partner, the European Union, is among the entities awaiting word Monday on whether U.S. President Donald Trump will impose punishing tariffs on their goods, a move economists have warned would have repercussions for companies and consumers on both sides of the Atlantic. Trump imposed a 20% import tax on all EU-made products in early April as part of a set of tariffs targeting countries with which the United States has a trade imbalance. Hours after the nation-specific duties took effect, he put them on hold until July 9 at a standard rate of 10% to quiet financial markets and allow time for negotiations. Expressing displeasure the EU's stance in trade talks, however, the president said he would jack up the tariff rate for European exports to 50%. A rate that high could make everything from French cheese and Italian leather goods to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals much more expensive in the U.S. The EU, whose 27 member nations operate as a single economic bloc, said its leaders hoped to strike a deal with the Trump administration. Without one, the EU said it was prepared to retaliate with tariffs on hundreds of American products, ranging from beef and auto parts to beer and Boeing airplanes. Here are important things to know about trade between the United States and the European Union. US-EU trade is enormous A lot of money is at stake in the trade talks. The EU's executive commission describes the trade between the U.S. and the EU as "the most important commercial relationship in the world.' The value of EU-U.S. trade in goods and services amounted to 1.7 trillion euros ($2 trillion) in 2024, or an average of 4.6 billion euros a day, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. The biggest U.S. export to Europe is crude oil, followed by pharmaceuticals, aircraft, automobiles, and medical and diagnostic equipment. Europe's biggest exports to the U.S. are pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits. EU sells more to the US than vice versa Trump has complained about the EU's 198 billion-euro ($233 billion) trade surplus in goods, which shows Americans buy more stuff from European businesses than the other way around. However, American companies fill some of the gap by outselling the EU when it comes to services such as cloud computing, travel bookings, and legal and financial services. The U.S. services surplus took the nation's trade deficit with the EU down to 50 billion euros ($59 billion), which represents less than 3% of overall U.S.-EU trade. What are the issues dividing the two sides? Before Trump returned to office, the U.S. and the EU maintained a generally cooperative trade relationship and low tariff levels on both sides. The U.S. rate averaged 1.47% for European goods, while the EU's averaged 1.35% for American products. But the White House has taken a much less friendly posture toward the longstanding U.S. ally since February. Along with the fluctuating tariff rate on European goods Trump has floated, the EU has been subject to his administration's 50% tariff on steel and aluminum and a 25% tax on imported automobiles and parts. Trump administration officials have raised a slew of issues they want to see addressed, including agricultural barriers such as EU health regulations that include bans on chlorine-washed chicken and hormone-treated beef. Trump has also criticized Europe's value-added taxes, which EU countries levy at the point of sale this year at rates of 17% to 27%. But many economists see VAT as trade-neutral since they apply to domestic goods and services as well as imported ones. Because national governments set the taxes through legislation, the EU has said they aren't on the table during trade negotiations. 'On the thorny issues of regulations, consumer standards and taxes, the EU and its member states cannot give much ground,' Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Germany's Berenberg bank, said. 'They cannot change the way they run the EU's vast internal market according to U.S. demands, which are often rooted in a faulty understanding of how the EU works.' What are potential impacts of higher tariffs? Economists and companies say higher tariffs will mean higher prices for U.S. consumers on imported goods. Importers must decide how much of the extra tax costs to absorb through lower profits and how much to pass on to customers. Mercedes-Benz dealers in the US. have said they are holding the line on 2025 model year prices 'until further notice.' The German automaker has a partial tariff shield because it makes 35% of the Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in the U.S. in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, but the company said it expects prices to undergo 'significant increases' in coming years. Simon Hunt, CEO of Italian wine and spirits producer Campari Group, told investment analysts that prices could increase for some products or stay the same depending what rival companies do. If competitors raise prices, the company might decide to hold its prices on Skyy vodka or Aperol aperitif to gain market share, Hunt said. Trump has argued that making it more difficult for foreign companies to sell in the U.S. is a way to stimulate a revival of American manufacturing. Many companies have dismissed the idea or said it would take years to yield positive economic benefits. However, some corporations have proved willing to shift some production stateside. France-based luxury group LVMH, whose brands include Tiffany & Co., Luis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Moet & Chandon, could move some production to the United States, billionaire CEO Bernaud Arnault said at the company's annual meeting in April. Arnault, who attended Trump's inauguration, has urged Europe to reach a deal based on reciprocal concessions. 'If we end up with high tariffs, ... we will be forced to increase our U.S.-based production to avoid tariffs,' Arnault said. 'And if Europe fails to negotiate intelligently, that will be the consequence for many companies. ... It will be the fault of Brussels, if it comes to that.' Many expect Trump to drop his most drastic demands Some forecasts indicate the U.S. economy would be more at risk if the negotiations fail. Without a deal, the EU would lose 0.3% of its gross domestic product and U.S. GDP would fall 0.7%, if Trump slaps imported goods from Europe with tariffs of 10% to 25%, according to a research review by Bruegel, a think tank in Brussels. Given the complexity of some of the issues, the two sides may arrive only at a framework deal before Wednesday's deadline. That would likely leave a 10% base tariff, as well as the auto, steel and aluminum tariffs in place until details of a formal trade agreement are ironed out. The most likely outcome of the trade talks is that 'the U.S. will agree to deals in which it takes back its worst threats of 'retaliatory' tariffs well beyond 10%,' Schmieding said. 'However, the road to get there could be rocky.' The U.S. offering exemptions for some goods might smooth the path to a deal. The EU could offer to ease some regulations that the White House views as trade barriers. 'While Trump might be able to sell such an outcome as a 'win' for him, the ultimate victims of his protectionism would, of course, be mostly the U.S. consumers,' Schmieding said.
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Thousands in Wisconsin protest immigrant treatment, Trump agenda in No Kings protests
Wisconsinites in more than 50 towns and cities took to the streets on Saturday, June 14, as part of what organizers say was the largest nationwide protest yet against President Donald Trump's second-term agenda. In downtown Milwaukee, organizers estimated the crowd reached almost 10,000 people, according to Alan Chavoya, a protester with the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression. Protestors chanted and sang in Cathedral Square Park, before marching a mile loop around part of downtown. The rally was energetic, but peaceful. "This is what democracy looks like," Chavoya said. More than 100 groups worked together to organize No Kings protests across the country, with actions taking place in more than 1,500 cities, according to its website. Spearheading the effort was the national organizing group, 50501 — short for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement." The protests take their name from the idea that in the United States, we don't have kings — a reference to Trump's own language about himself and his perception of virtually unchecked power. The Saturday's protests coincided with Trump's military parade — estimated to cost upwards of $30 million — to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army and his own birthday. They also took place as word spread of the assassination Saturday morning of a Minnesota state representative and her husband, along with the shootings of a Minnesota state senator and his wife, in what has been described as a politically motivated attack. Many of the protestors in Cathedral Square Park held up signs supporting immigrants, and decrying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's recent nationwide crackdown. Lindsey Amador, 24, and her niece, Jacqueline Garcia-Amador, 19, traveled from Lake Geneva to specifically protest ICE, they said. Both grew up with undocumented family members and have been protesting for immigrants' rights for years. "It's really sad seeing everything that's happened recently," Garcia-Amador said. "Most of the people coming here just want a better life. All we want is justice, dignity and no more separation of families." Julia Miranda Ramirez, 56, said she immigrated to Milwaukee from Mexico nearly two decades ago and eventually attained her green-card status. Waving a Mexican flag at the protest, Miranda Ramirez said she wanted to represent and support her local Mexican American community. "We deserve respect, dignity and inclusion," she said. "It's common sense." Janey Christoffersen, 49, of West Allis, said she was attending a protest for the first time, motivated by local reports of federal arrests of immigrants. "It was a no-brainer to be here," Christoffersen said, speaking through tears. "I want to get out of my comfort zone to show people that we love and care about them, that the whole country is not angry." Along with immigrants' rights, the Cathedral Square Park crowd singled out issues like veterans' benefits, abortion access, union jobs and public education funding — all of which have been targets of the Trump administration or the broader Republican agenda. Laurie Peifer, a retired member of the Milwaukee Fire Department, said she was protesting to protect women's health care. She dressed in a red robe and white bonnet, inspired by Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. "I'm no longer able to have children, and I never wanted to anyway, but I had the right to choose my entire reproductive life," Peifer said. "That being taken away from women today has me disturbed." New Berlin resident Dick Clarey, 78, said he came out with his wife to protest the Trump administration's shrinking of the Department of Veteran's Affairs. A Vietnam War veteran, Clarey said he had little use for the military parade in Washington, D.C. "We really don't need to show off our power like that," Clarey said. Ellen Eckman, 78, and her husband, Fred, 81, have attended multiple protests against the Trump administration in recent months. The Shorewood residents said they came out Saturday to rally for free speech rights after seeing National Guard troops dispatched to protests in Los Angeles, even though California officials neither wanted them nor thought they were at all needed. "I'm hoping that the attention generated all over the country today will wake up the Republicans to the fact that this is not what we want," Ellen Eckman said. In addition to downtown Milwaukee, crowds turned out at other area protests in Shorewood, Greenfield, Brookfield and Waukesha. Dawn Levine, an organizer with Waukesha Resist, said for her, protest was about preserving freedom for future generations. 'I have two daughters. I want them to have the future that I had growing up," she said. 'We had freedom, we had rights, and (Trump) is trying to take that away from us and make us minions, and I'm not going to stand for that.' New Berlin resident Bill Loos, 71, said he came to the protest with his wife because he wants to support people impacted by Trump's policies. He questioned how people who knew women, people of color and people in the LGBTQ+ community could support someone who 'wants to hurt them with his policies and programs.' Waukesha resident Vicki Magisano said she attended because she believes in the importance of Medicare and Social Security. 'We haven't had a king since we kicked them out in 1776. We need to not have another one,' she said. 'This country is built on immigrants, hard work and democracy." Waukesha resident Nancy Bopre said she wants to tell her grandchildren that she did not stay silent about injustice. Bopre said that she believes in protecting the U.S. Constitution and the right to Medicaid. 'I have a disabled son,' she said. 'He's been accepted to longer-term Medicaid as of two-and-a-half years ago.' In Shorewood, several hundred people showed up to rally Saturday afternoon, exceeding organizers' original registration numbers. Organizer Caryn Melton, a Shorewood resident for 32 years, said Saturday was her first protest. 'I'm inspired to see so many people from so many walks of life have shown up here to express their concern for our country and to protest and exercise our rights as Americans," she said. Milwaukee resident, Kelli Hook, 47, opted to attend Shorewood's No Kings protest instead of the larger one in Cathedral Square Park. Hook said she believes having boots on the ground is important, especially in a suburb like Shorewood, where activists may have less of the presence. 'It's our responsibility to stand up, show our voice, not wait until the ballot box, spend every day we can fighting for justice for every single person on the planet, whether they're trans, LGBT, immigrants, refugees and other disfranchised people," she said. Outside of southeast Wisconsin, protests were held all around Wisconsin. Thousands marched up Madison's State Street, and organizers estimated as many as 17,000 people gathered at the Wisconsin State Capitol, which featured remarks from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, Democrat from Georgia, and a phone message U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont. Vietnam War veteran Will Gilmore, 78, traveled from his home in Columbus, Wisconsin, to attend the Madison protest. Gilmore said he felt it was important for him to attend because he took an oath to protect the U.S. Constitution, which he believes the Trump administration is failing to follow. 'We're at a cusp right now," Gilmore said. "It's up to us to decide if we want not to just go back to where we were, but to try to revamp government so that it better addresses the needs of the people." Ahead of the march to the state Capitol, Women's March held a 'Kick Out the Clowns' rally on Library Mall, complete with clowns and musical performances. The women's rights group coordinated the event with No Kings organizers as part of efforts to draw as many protesters to Madison as possible, executive director Rachel O'Leary Carmona told the Journal Sentinel. O'Leary Carmona emphasized the importance of community and nonviolent action, especially given the Minnesota lawmaker shootings Saturday. 'I think in this moment, when fear has been rising and polarization has been rising, there is an impulse to start to not trust each other and to fracture at the seams," O'Leary Carmona said. "I think that our actions are a tactical intervention against that because it's an effort to blunt the impact of political violence." Just as in the Milwaukee area, smaller communities around Madison held No Kings rallies of their own. About 200 gathered in Stoughton, for example, and 150 attended in McFarland, local police department officials said. An estimated 600 protested in Green Bay. Nationally, protests took place from one coast to the other, and even at Mar-a-Lago, Trump's home in Palm Beach, Florida. The themes were consistent: be more accepting of immigrants and refugees, stop cutting programs that help the poor and those on the fringes, have more respect for veterans, and stop taking actions that denigrate people of color. Many signs and speakers at rallies across the country hit on anti-authoritarian themes. In New York, the actor Mark Ruffalo, a native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, said: "Sadly today, Donald Trump and the administration of billionaires, crackpots and ICE brigades, have taken over. We have a king and his court and his beige henchmen, and they're trampling on our rights and our laws and our freedoms." This story was updated to add a video. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dozens of Wisconsin cities holding 'No Kings' protests against Trump
