Solis Issues Statement Following Trump Administration Handing Medicaid Data Over to ICE

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Los Angeles County Chair Pro Tem and First District Supervisor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement regarding the Trump Administration’s decision to share Medicaid recipient data with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE):

“The news that ICE officials received confidential health information from the Trump Administration is disturbing but sadly unsurprising given the lawlessness of this President. There are 79 million vulnerable low-income residents who rely on Medicaid nationwide. This violation of HIPAA, the federal law protecting sensitive patient health information, erodes the trust in our healthcare system. These safeguards are in place for a reason – so everyone feels safe accessing essential life-saving care. 

We know that 3.4 million of Los Angeles County’s residents are enrolled in Medi-Cal, the State’s Medicaid program, of which 600,000 individuals are undocumented – and the Trump Administration’s actions puts their health and wellbeing directly at risk simply to target them for deportation. No one in this County, state, or nation should feel under attack simply for accessing healthcare.

This will further put our immigrant communities at risk and will exacerbate fear in accessing essential services.  I remain committed to protecting the rights of our residents and plan to file a motion directing the County to join the State’s lawsuit against the Trump Administration for this illegal breach of sensitive, personal health information.”