The Trump administration has quietly authorized ICE to access personal data from 79 million Medicaid recipients—including addresses and ethnicities.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are set to gain access to the personal details of America’s 79 million Medicaid members, including home addresses and ethnicities, in a bid to locate immigrants who may be residing unlawfully in the United States, as per an agreement seen by The Associated Press.
The data will empower ICE officials to pinpoint “the location of aliens” nationwide, according to the pact inked Monday between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security. This deal has yet to be disclosed to the public, the Associated Press reported.
This unprecedented sharing of vast amounts of personal health information with immigration enforcement is the latest move in the Trump administration’s intensified efforts to detain 3,000 individuals daily, pushing the envelope of legal limits.
Legislators and certain CMS officials have questioned the lawfulness of deportation authorities’ access to some states’ Medicaid enrollee information.
This development, revealed by the Associated Press, was described by Health and Human Services officials as an effort to identify individuals improperly enrolled in the program.
However, the recent data-sharing arrangement clarifies what ICE officials plan to do with the health information.
“ICE will use the CMS data to allow ICE to receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE,” the agreement says.
The database will expose to ICE officials the names, addresses, birth dates, ethnic and racial information, as well as Social Security numbers for all individuals enrolled in Medicaid.
The state and federally funded program delivers health care coverage for the nation’s poorest residents, including millions of children.
The arrangement does not permit ICE officials to download the information.
Rather, they will be granted access to it for a restricted timeframe from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Sept. 9.
“They are trying to turn us into immigration agents,” said a CMS official who did not have permission to speak to the media and insisted on anonymity.
Revelations about potential immigration enforcement in emergency medical settings could spark panic among those in need of urgent care for themselves or their kids.
The crackdown on illegal immigration has already cast a shadow of fear over schools, churches, courthouses, and other common spaces, leaving immigrants and even U.S. citizens anxious about being swept up in raids.
Big Brother has arrived! 🙁
https://www.themirror.com/news/us-news/breaking-trump-officials-give-ice-1274202