Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago — Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a multistate coalition, asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to enforce its preliminary injunction blocking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from obtaining and using the data of Medicaid recipients who are lawfully residing in the United States. The coalition’s recent communications with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicate that HHS shared with ICE a “large and complex data set” of Medicaid recipient data, even though the court unambiguously held that much Medicaid data, including that of citizens and lawful permanent residents, is “off limits.” The exact contents of this shared data set are unclear. In filing its motion to enforce, the coalition also asks the court to confirm that the scope of its original order includes all individuals lawfully residing in the U.S. and to require the federal government to explain what data has been shared by HHS, and how ICE is using the data.

“Broad sharing of data about Medicaid recipients is a violation of privacy and will have a chilling effect on the most vulnerable populations’ willingness to enroll in Medicaid programs for which they are legally eligible,” Raoul said. “I will continue to use all the tools at my disposal to fight back against the Trump administration’s unlawful actions that target Illinoisans.” 

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

In Illinois, Medicaid, CHIP and other affordable health care programs provide critical health care coverage to more than 3 million individuals and families across the state, making the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services the largest source of medical insurance in Illinois.
On July 1, 2025, Raoul and the coalition filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that HHS’s mass transfer of Medicaid data to ICE 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. These individuals may not receive the emergency health services they need and will suffer negative health consequences – and even death – as a result. 

In its preliminary injunction order, the court allowed some data transfers, but enjoined ICE’s broader efforts to obtain sensitive health data; data of citizens, lawful permanent residents, and others residing lawfully in the U.S.; and data from other CMS administered health programs.  

Attorney General Raoul was joined in filing this motion to enforce the court’s order by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the governor of Kentucky.