Twenty states have filed a lawsuit challenging what they said was the Department of Health and Human Services' "decision to provide unfettered access to individual personal health data" to the Department of Homeland Security and, by extension, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleged in a statement published Tuesday that President Donald Trump's administration had violated federal privacy laws -- including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act -- by releasing the data.
"Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the mass transfer of this data violates the law and ask the court to block any new transfer or use of this data for immigration enforcement purposes," the statement said.
"The Trump administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE," Bonta said.
"In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care," Bonta continued.
"Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the mass transfer of this data violates the law and ask the court to block any new transfer or use of this data for immigration enforcement purposes," the statement said.
"The Trump administration has upended longstanding privacy protections with its decision to illegally share sensitive, personal health data with ICE," Bonta said.
"In doing so, it has created a culture of fear that will lead to fewer people seeking vital emergency medical care," Bonta continued.
"I'm sickened by this latest salvo in the president's anti-immigrant campaign. We're headed to court to prevent any further sharing of Medicaid data -- and to ensure any of the data that's already been shared is not used for immigration enforcement purposes," he added.
