Judge Chhabria: Defines 'Lawful Presence,' Limits ICE Medicaid Data

• A federal judge has narrowed the scope of Medicaid patient data the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) can share with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
• U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria clarified a December injunction, which had allowed ICE to obtain basic biographical and contact information for individuals not lawfully present, but limited the data types.
• The judge concluded that valid, non-expired visa holders should not have their Medicaid data shared with ICE, rejecting the government's argument that only permanent residents are protected.
• Judge Chhabria directed the parties to agree that lawfully but temporarily present individuals should be grouped with citizens and lawful permanent residents under the injunction.
• The states' lawsuit, filed in July 2025, challenged a Trump administration policy that rescinded a 2019 rule barring the use of healthcare information for immigration enforcement.

He questioned the significance of "permanently" in this context, stating, "They are here lawfully. Yes, you can potentially take immigration enforcement against some of those people, but they are here lawfully. I think we need to go category by category."

A federal judge has recently clarified the parameters for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to share Medicaid information with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), effectively narrowing the scope of individuals whose data can be transmitted. This development stems from a December injunction that initially permitted the Trump administration to proceed with a new ICE policy. That policy allowed the agency to obtain basic information from certain Medicaid patients for immigration enforcement purposes, but the injunction had limited the shared data to specific categories: citizenship and immigration status, address, phone number, date of birth, and Medicaid ID for individuals not lawfully present in the country. No information beyond these categories was permitted for sharing.

The core of the recent clarification by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria addressed a fundamental disagreement between the plaintiff states and the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the definition of individuals considered 'in the country lawfully.' Both parties sought the judge's guidance on precisely which groups of people fell under this category, as their interpretations directly impacted whose information could be shared with ICE under the existing injunction. This judicial intervention aims to refine the boundaries of HHS ICE Medicaid data sharing, particularly concerning individuals with various forms of temporary legal status.

The legal battle originated in July 2025, when several states filed a lawsuit challenging a Trump administration ICE policy memo. This memo had rescinded a prior 2019 rule that explicitly prohibited the use of healthcare information for immigration enforcement. The new policy, which the states sought to block, empowered ICE to request and utilize data from HHS for "any and all" immigration enforcement activities. The December injunction, while allowing the policy to move forward, had imposed the aforementioned limitations on the types of data shareable and the categories of individuals targeted.

Initially, the plaintiff states had proposed a very narrow interpretation, suggesting that HHS should only be permitted to share health data for individuals who were already under a final removal order. However, Judge Chhabria had previously determined that other groups, such as those actively undergoing removal proceedings, could also have their information accessed and utilized by ICE for enforcement purposes, indicating a broader interpretation than the states' initial stance.

During recent proceedings, the states advocated for the protection of Medicaid patient data privacy for individuals legally present in the country, irrespective of their temporary status. This group includes a diverse range of people such as those holding valid, non-expired visas (including student or work visas), individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS), recipients of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), those with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, and victims of human trafficking. Anna Rich, an attorney for the California Department of Justice, argued that defining the shareable group based on anyone the Department of Homeland Security could take action against would encompass an excessively large population, deeming it unreasonable to share Medicaid data for all such individuals.

Conversely, DOJ attorney Christian Dibblee contended that the statutory authorities granting ICE the ability to obtain Medicaid data were exceedingly broad. He asserted that HHS should therefore be able to share data for anyone not permanently residing in the country. Judge Chhabria, an appointee of Barack Obama, expressed skepticism regarding the DOJ's emphasis on permanent residency. He questioned the significance of "permanently" in this context, stating, "They are here lawfully. Yes, you can potentially take immigration enforcement against some of those people, but they are here lawfully. I think we need to go category by category." He also voiced skepticism about why valid, non-expired visa holders should not be included with citizens and lawful permanent residents under the injunction, highlighting the complexities of immigration enforcement health data.

While stopping short of issuing a formal ruling, Judge Chhabria ultimately concluded that individuals holding valid, non-expired visas should not have their health data shared with ICE. He explicitly rejected the government's argument that individuals must be permanently in the country to be excluded from data sharing. The judge did, however, indicate greater skepticism regarding the inclusion of DACA recipients and TPS holders within the protected group, suggesting a nuanced approach to different categories of temporary lawful presence. This guidance significantly impacts the scope of Judge Chhabria immigration data sharing.

Following these discussions, Judge Chhabria directed both parties to work towards an agreement that aligns with his guidance. This agreement should ensure that individuals who are lawfully present in the country, even if on a temporary basis, are grouped with citizens and lawful permanent residents under the injunction's protections. Representatives for both the states and the Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on these developments.

This judicial clarification narrows the scope of Medicaid data shareable with ICE, particularly protecting certain temporary lawful residents. Lawyers advising immigrant clients or healthcare providers should understand these updated limitations to ensure compliance and protect patient data privacy rights.

Source: Original reporting via Courthouse News Service