The Trump administration has authorized Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to access personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees. This includes sensitive information like addresses and ethnicities, aimed at identifying immigrants living illegally in the U.S. The agreement between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security has not been publicly announced. Critics argue this move breaches legal boundaries and could deter immigrants from seeking emergency medical care. The data-sharing initiative is part of a broader immigration crackdown, raising concerns about privacy and the potential misuse of health data. The agreement limits ICE’s data access to weekdays until September 9.
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