ICE is said to monitor migrants with extensive Medicaid data.

ICE Access to Medicaid Data Raises Concerns

Reports indicate that Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have gained access to personal details from around 79 million individuals enrolled in Medicaid. This includes sensitive information such as ethnicity and addresses, presumably to help locate undocumented immigrants.

This access is part of a recently revealed inter-agency agreement, which the Associated Press obtained. According to this document, both the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have signed an unpublished agreement that allows ICE to track “alien locations” across the United States.

The agreement explicitly states that “ICE uses CMS data to enable ICE to receive identity and location information about the aliens identified in ICE,” as reported by the Associated Press.

ICE officials can view names, addresses, ethnicities, birth dates, and Social Security numbers of Medicaid recipients. However, it’s worth noting that they cannot download any of this data. Access is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the contract expiring on September 9th.

DHS Deputy Director Tricia McLaughlin informed the Associated Press that both agencies are looking into ways to prevent undocumented immigrants from receiving Medicaid benefits that are intended for legal residents.

Rujul H. Desai, the CMS Chief Legal Officer, pointed out in an email chain that CMS officials should advocate for the White House to “suspend” the information-sharing arrangement. A response from a lawyer at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) indicated that the DOJ is “pleased that CMS is used to providing DHS access.”

Furthermore, the contract highlights that DHS plans to utilize this information to target illegal immigrants for deportation. Meanwhile, HHS representatives claim the primary purpose is to determine if non-U.S. citizens are unduly benefitting from Medicaid.

Interestingly, CMS isn’t the only agency working closely with ICE. Companies like Palantir Technologies, known for their data analytics and AI capabilities, are reportedly developing advanced tools to aid in deportation efforts.

ICE has also recently contracted Palantir for approximately $30 million to create a new system called the Immigration Lifecycle Operating System, expected to improve the efficiency of immigration logistics and reduce resource expenditure related to the entire process from identification to removal.