
20 states sue Trump administration over release of private Medicaid data to Homeland Security
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s advisers ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C., to the Department of Homeland Security, The Associated Press first reported last month. All of those states allow non-U.S. citizens to enrol in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars.
The unusual data sharing of private health information — including addresses, names, social security numbers, immigration status and claims data for enrollees in those states — was released to deportation officials as they accelerated enforcement efforts across the country. The data could be used to help the Department of Homeland Security locate migrants in its mass deportation campaign, experts said.
Bonta said the Trump administration's data release violates federal health privacy protection laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
"This is about flouting seven decades of federal law policy and practice that have made it clear that personal health-care data is confidential and can only be shared in certain narrow circumstances that benefit the public's health or the Medicaid program," Bonta said during a news conference on Tuesday.
The Trump administration has sought to arm deportation officials with more data on immigrants. In May, for example, a federal judge refused to block the Internal Revenue Service from sharing immigrants' tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to help agents locate and detain people living without legal status in the U.S.
The move to shore up the federal government's data on immigrant Medicaid enrollees appears to have been set in motion in May, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced it would be reviewing some states rolls to ensure federal funds have not been used to pay for coverage for people with "unsatisfactory immigration status."
As part of the review, CMS asked California, Washington and Illinois to share details about non-U.S. citizens who have enrolled in their state's Medicaid program, according to a June 6 memo signed by Medicaid Deputy Director Sara Vitolo that was obtained by the AP. The memo was written by several CMS officials under Vitolo's supervision, according to sources familiar with the process.
CMS officials attempted to fight the data-sharing request from Homeland Security, saying that to do so would violate federal laws, including the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, according to the memo.
The legal arguments outlined in the memo were not persuasive to Trump appointees at HHS, which oversees the Medicaid agency.
Four days after the memo was sent, on June 10, HHS officials directed the transfer of "the data to DHS by 5:30 ET today," according to email exchanges obtained by AP.
HHS is "aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds," agency spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement. The agency has not provided details on DHS's role in the effort. Nixon also defended the legality of releasing the data to DHS.
"HHS acted entirely within its legal authority — and in full compliance with all applicable laws — to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them," he said in the statement.
Dozens of Democratic members of Congress — in both the House and Senate — have sent letters to the involved agencies, demanding that data sharing cease and that Homeland Security destroy the information it has received so far.
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Globe and Mail
5 hours ago
- Globe and Mail
Trump administration ordered by federal judge to halt immigration arrests in California
A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown. The plaintiffs include three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification. The filing in U.S. District Court asked a judge to block the administration from using what they call unconstitutional tactics in immigration raids. Immigrant advocates accuse immigration officials of detaining someone based on their race, carrying out warrantless arrests, and denying detainees access to legal counsel at a holding facility in downtown LA. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an e-mail that 'any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin colour are disgusting and categorically FALSE.' McLaughlin said 'enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence' before making arrests. Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility. U.S. detainees describe worm-filled food, inhuman treatment at 'Alligator Alcatraz' migrant centre Protesters and federal agents clash during immigration raid at Southern California farm Frimpong issued the orders the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the constitution. Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was under way after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an 'arbitrary arrest quota' and based on 'broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity.' When detaining the three day labourers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who 'looked Hispanic.' ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the U.S. citizens who was detained, was 'physically assaulted ... for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighbourhood.' Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved. Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the 'totality of the circumstances' including prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field. In some cases, they also operated off 'targeted, individualized packages,' he said. 'The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment,' Skedzielewski said. Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as 'B-18' on several occasions since June, according to court documents. Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys 'attempted to shout out basic rights' at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed. Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to 'protect the employees and the detainees' during violent protests and it has since been restored. Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them. He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called 'coercive' to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April.


CTV News
5 hours ago
- CTV News
Judge orders Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops, arrests in California
People wait outside of Glass House Farms, a day after an immigration raid on the facility, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Camarillo, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) LOS ANGELES — A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocacy groups filed the lawsuit last week accusing U.S. President Donald Trump's administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California during its ongoing immigration crackdown. The plaintiffs include three detained immigrants and two U.S. citizens, one who was held despite showing agents his identification. The filing in U.S. District Court asked a judge to block the administration from using what they call unconstitutional tactics in immigration raids. Immigrant advocates accuse immigration officials of detaining someone based on their race, carrying out warrantless arrests, and denying detainees access to legal counsel at a holding facility in downtown L.A. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said in an email that 'any claims that individuals have been 'targeted' by law enforcement because of their skin color are disgusting and categorically FALSE.' McLaughlin said 'enforcement operations are highly targeted, and officers do their due diligence' before making arrests. Judge Maame E. Frimpong also issued a separate order barring the federal government from restricting attorney access at a Los Angeles immigration detention facility. Frimpong issued the orders the day after a hearing during which advocacy groups argued that the government was violating the Fourth and Fifth amendments of the constitution. Immigrants and Latino communities across Southern California have been on edge for weeks since the Trump administration stepped up arrests at car washes, Home Depot parking lots, immigration courts and a range of businesses. Tens of thousands of people have participated in rallies in the region over the raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. The order also applies to Ventura County, where busloads of workers were detained Thursday while the court hearing was underway after federal agents descended on a cannabis farm, leading to clashes with protesters and multiple injuries. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the recent wave of immigration enforcement has been driven by an 'arbitrary arrest quota' and based on 'broad stereotypes based on race or ethnicity.' When detaining the three day laborers who are plaintiffs in the lawsuit, all immigration agents knew about them is that they were Latino and were dressed in construction work clothes, the filing said. It goes on to describe raids at swap meets and Home Depots where witnesses say federal agents grabbed anyone who 'looked Hispanic.' ACLU attorney Mohammad Tajsar said Brian Gavidia, one of the U.S. citizens who was detained, was 'physically assaulted ... for no other reason than he was Latino and working at a tow yard in a predominantly Latin American neighborhood.' Tajsar asked why immigration agents detained everyone at a car wash except two white workers, according to a declaration by a car wash worker, if race wasn't involved. Representing the government, attorney Sean Skedzielewski said there was no evidence that federal immigration agents considered race in their arrests, and that they only considered appearance as part of the 'totality of the circumstances' including prior surveillance and interactions with people in the field. In some cases, they also operated off 'targeted, individualized packages,' he said. 'The Department of Homeland Security has policy and training to ensure compliance with the Fourth Amendment,' Skedzielewski said. Lawyers from Immigrant Defenders Law Center and other groups say they also have been denied access to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown LA known as 'B-18' on several occasions since June, according to court documents. Lawyer Mark Rosenbaum said in one incident on June 7 attorneys 'attempted to shout out basic rights' at a bus of people detained by immigration agents in downtown LA when the government drivers honked their horns to drown them out and chemical munitions akin to tear gas were deployed. Skedzielewski said access was only restricted to 'protect the employees and the detainees' during violent protests and it has since been restored. Rosenbaum said lawyers were denied access even on days without any demonstrations nearby, and that the people detained are also not given sufficient access to phones or informed that lawyers were available to them. He said the facility lacks adequate food and beds, which he called 'coercive' to getting people to sign papers to agree to leave the country before consulting an attorney. Attorneys general for 18 Democratic states also filed briefs in support of the orders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents were already barred from making warrantless arrests in a large swath of eastern California after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction in April. By Jaimie Ding.


CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
State Department lays off over 1,300 employees under Trump administration plan
Retired State Department employees and supporters rally outside the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters of the State Department, in Washington, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) WASHINGTON — The U.S. State Department fired more than 1,300 employees on Friday in line with a dramatic reorganization plan from the Trump administration that critics say will damage America's global leadership and efforts to counter threats abroad. The department sent layoff notices to 1,107 civil servants and 246 foreign service officers with assignments in the United States, according to a senior department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Notices said positions were being 'abolished' and the employees would lose access to U.S. State Department headquarters in Washington and their email and shared drives by 5 p.m., according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press. As fired employees packed their belongings, dozens of former colleagues, ambassadors, members of U.S. Congress and others spent a warm, humid day protesting outside. Holding signs saying, 'Thank you to America's diplomats,' and 'We all deserve better,' they mourned the institutional loss from the cuts and highlighted the personal sacrifice of serving in the foreign service. 'We talk about people in uniform serving. But foreign service officers take an oath of office, just like military officers,' said Anne Bodine, who retired from the U.S. State Department in 2011 after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. 'This is not the way to treat people who served their country and who believe in 'America First.'' While lauded by U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and their Republican allies as overdue and necessary to make the department leaner and more efficient, the cuts have been roundly criticized by current and former diplomats who say they will weaken U.S. influence and the ability to counter existing and emerging threats abroad. State Department Cuts Retired State Department employees and supporters cheer to recognize the service of fired State Department employees, leaving the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters of the State Department, in Washington, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The layoffs are part of big changes to U.S. State Department work The Trump administration has pushed to reshape American diplomacy and worked aggressively to shrink the size of the federal government, including mass dismissals driven by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency and moves to dismantle whole departments like the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Education Department. USAID, the six-decade-old foreign assistance agency, was absorbed into the U.S. State Department last week after the administration dramatically slashed foreign aid funding. A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the layoffs to start, while lawsuits challenging the legality of the cuts continue to play out. The department had advised staffers Thursday that it would be sending layoff notices to some of them soon. In a May letter notifying U.S. Congress about the reorganization, the department said it had just over 18,700 U.S.-based employees and was looking to reduce the workforce by 18 per cent through layoffs and voluntary departures, including deferred resignation programs. 'It's not a consequence of trying to get rid of people. But if you close the bureau, you don't need those positions,' Rubio told reporters Thursday during a visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 'Understand that some of these are positions that are being eliminated, not people.' Foreign service officers affected will be placed immediately on administrative leave for 120 days, after which they will formally lose their jobs, according to an internal notice obtained by AP. For most civil servants, the separation period is 60 days, it said. State Department Cuts Retired State Department employees and supporters cheer to recognize the service of fired State Department employees as they leave the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters of the State Department, in Washington, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) Protesters gather to criticize the job cuts Inside and just outside the U.S. State Department, employees spent over an hour applauding their departing colleagues, who got more support -- and sometimes hugs -- from protesters and others gathered across the street. As speakers took to a bullhorn, people behind them held signs in the shape of gravestones that said 'democracy,' 'human rights,' and 'diplomacy.' 'It's just heartbreaking to stand outside these doors right now and see people coming out in tears, because all they wanted to do was serve this country,' said Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat who worked as a civilian adviser for the U.S. State Department in Afghanistan during the Obama administration. Robert Blake, who served as a U.S. ambassador under the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, said he came to support his peers at a very 'unjust time.' 'I have a lot of friends who served very loyally and with distinction and who are being fired for nothing to do with their performance,' Blake said. Gordon Duguid, a 31-year veteran of the foreign service, said of the Trump administration: 'They're not looking for people who have the expertise ... they just want people who say, 'OK, how high'' to jump. 'That's a recipe for disaster,' he added. The American Foreign Service Association, the union that represents U.S. diplomats, said it opposed the job cuts during 'a moment of great global instability.' 'Losing more diplomatic expertise at this critical global moment is a catastrophic blow to our national interests,' the AFSA said in a statement. 'These layoffs are untethered from merit or mission.' As the layoffs began, paper signs started going up around the U.S. State Department. 'Colleagues, if you remain: resist fascism,' said one. An employee who was among those laid off said she printed them about a week ago, when the U.S. Supreme Court cleared way for the reductions. The employee spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. She worked with about a dozen colleagues to put up the signs. They focused on bathrooms, where there are no security cameras, although others went in more public spaces. 'Nobody wants to feel like these guys can just get away with this,' she said. State Department Cuts State Department employees carry boxes out of the Harry S. Truman Building, the headquarters of the State Department, in Washington, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) The State Department is undergoing a big reorganization The State Department is planning to eliminate some divisions tasked with oversight of America's two-decade involvement in Afghanistan, including an office focused on resettling Afghan nationals who worked alongside the U.S. military. Jessica Bradley Rushing, who worked at the U.S. Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, known as CARE, said she was shocked when she received another dismissal notice Friday after she had already been put on administrative leave in March. 'I spent the entire morning getting updates from my former colleagues at CARE, who were watching this carnage take place within the office,' she said, adding that every person on her team received a notice. 'I never even anticipated that I could be at risk for that because I'm already on administrative leave.' The U.S. State Department said the reorganization will affect more than 300 bureaus and offices, as it eliminates divisions it describes as doing unclear or overlapping work. It says Rubio believes 'effective modern diplomacy requires streamlining this bloated bureaucracy.' The letter to U.S. Congress was clear that the reorganization is also intended to eliminate programs — particularly those related to refugees and immigration, as well as human rights and democracy promotion — that the Trump administration believes have become ideologically driven in a way that is incompatible with its priorities and policies. State Department Cuts State Department employees applaud as their colleagues leave the State Department headquarters in the Harry S Truman Building, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ___ By Matthew Lee, Farnoush Amiri And Manuel Balce Ceneta, Associated Press