Attorney General Tong Secures Preliminary Relief Blocking Medicaid Data from Being Used for Immigration Enforcement Purposes

Press Releases

08/13/2025

Attorney General Tong Secures Preliminary Relief Blocking Medicaid Data from Being Used for Immigration Enforcement Purposes

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today issued the following statement after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction finding Connecticut and a multistate coalition were likely to succeed on their claim that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) decision to provide unfettered access to individual personal health data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s prohibition on arbitrary and capricious rulemaking. The preliminary injunction blocks DHS from using Medicaid data obtained from plaintiff states for immigration enforcement purposes, and blocks HHS from sharing Medicaid data obtained from coalition states with DHS for immigration enforcement purposes. The preliminary injunction will remain in place either until 14 days after HHS and DHS complete a reasoned decision-making process that complies with the Administrative Procedure Act, or until litigation concludes.

“Donald Trump does not need your private medical records to secure the border. ICE does not need your immunization records, your cancer diagnosis, your prescriptions, or your weight. This rushed and sloppy plan was about one thing—bullying immigrant families away from seeking healthcare. And that makes all of us less healthy and less safe. This is a major early victory, but we are prepared to keep fighting for as long as it takes to protect our privacy and public health,” said Attorney General Tong.

On July 1, 2025, Connecticut joined a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit against the Trump Administration arguing that the mass transfer of Medicaid data violates the law and asking the court to block any new transfer or use of this data for immigration enforcement purposes. The lawsuit highlighted that the Trump Administration’s illegal actions are creating fear and confusion leading noncitizens and their family members to disenroll, or refuse to enroll, in emergency Medicaid for which they are otherwise eligible, leaving states and their safety net hospitals to foot the bill for federally mandated emergency healthcare services. In the limited preliminary injunction order, the court ruled that the Trump Administration’s actions were likely arbitrary and capricious and rulemaking in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Created in 1965, Medicaid is an essential source of health insurance for lower-income individuals and particular underserved population groups, including children, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, and seniors. The Medicaid program allows each participating state to develop and administer its own unique health plans; states must meet threshold federal statutory criteria, but they can tailor their plans’ eligibility standards and coverage options to residents’ needs. As of January 2025, 78.4 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) nationwide.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta led the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington in filing the lawsuit.

A copy of the preliminary injunction order is available here.

Twitter: @AGWilliamTong

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Media Contact:

Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov

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