Judge Rules Trump Admin Can Share Medicaid Data with ICE, Overruling California-Led Challenge

In a refreshing dose of judicial sanity, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria has handed President Donald Trump a significant victory in his push to enforce immigration laws and protect American taxpayers.

On Monday, Chhabria ruled that the Trump administration can resume sharing location data about undocumented immigrants enrolled in public health insurance programs with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This decision, set to take effect on January 6, 2026, dismantles yet another barrier erected by Democrats desperate to shield illegal aliens from accountability. 

Let’s break this down.

The case stems from a lawsuit filed back in July by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 21 other Democratic attorneys general, including Nevada and Arizona. The progressive plaintiffs sought to block the Trump administration from accessing Medicaid data to track down and deport individuals living here unlawfully.

Why? Because states like California twisted federal Medicaid rules to funnel taxpayer dollars to undocumented immigrants through state-funded programs, all while pretending this doesn’t undermine national sovereignty, strain state budges and our already overburdened healthcare system.

Undocumented immigrants aren’t eligible for federal Medicaid, but California’s Democrat-dominated legislature, through programs like Medi-Cal, extended benefits to hundreds of thousands of non-citizens, regardless of their immigration status.

The Globe has covered this fiscal nightmare for some time now. In September, Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-CA) confirmed that Medi-Cal was driven into insolvency, requiring Governor Gavin Newsom to (D-CA) to get an emergency loan and bailout after taxpayers were on the hook for $23 billion.

Gavin Newsom’s Medi-Cal program for low-income Californians is insolvent. We have Gavin Newsom to thank; he gifted free Medi-Cal coverage to every illegal immigrant in the state, costing  taxpayers $23 billion over 2 years, forcing Newsom to get both an emergency loan and a bailout, Rep. Kevin Kiley just confirmed.

Back in June, we reported Newsom was bankrupting Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid). He then announced he planned to cut Medi-Cal to any poor or disabled elderly Californian who has $2,000 in “assets.”

In the initial months of the Trump administration, reports surfaced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was sharing basic personal data from these enrollees with DHS immigration officials. Cue the outrage from the left: How dare the feds use this information for its intended purpose—enforcing the law.

Judge Chhabria, appointed by President Obama no less, saw through the smoke and mirrors.

In his ruling, he affirmed that sharing six categories of basic information—citizenship, immigration status, address, phone number, date of birth, and Medicaid ID—is “clearly authorized by law.” He added that the agencies involved have “adequately explained their decisions.” The order does prohibit sharing sensitive medical records or other health details for immigration enforcement, ensuring privacy protections remain intact for legitimate purposes. 

This isn’t some sweeping invasion of privacy, as the plaintiffs claimed. It’s a targeted tool to locate those who are unlawfully present and gaming the system.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin nailed it: “This is a victory for the rule of law and American taxpayers.”

For too long, sanctuary policies in California have turned the state into a magnet for illegal immigration, costing residents billions in education, healthcare, and public services. Now, ICE can use this data to prioritize deportations, focusing on those draining resources meant for citizens and legal residents.

The blue states’ arguments were as predictable as they were weak. Bonta’s office contended that using Medicaid data for enforcement “violates the trust” of enrollees and could deter people from seeking healthcare. Really? If you’re here illegally and signing up for benefits funded by hardworking Californians, perhaps you should be deterred.

The fearmongering about reduced healthcare access ignores the bigger picture: Unchecked illegal immigration overwhelms hospitals, drives up costs, and displaces those who play by the rules. Chhabria noted that beyond the basic info, the DHS policies were “totally unclear and do not appear to be the product of a coherent decisionmaking process,” but he didn’t let that vagueness derail his ruling.

This decision comes on the heels of formal notices from ICE and HHS in November, outlining their plans to integrate Medicaid data into deportation efforts. It’s a cornerstone of Trump’s mass-deportation agenda, which promises to reverse the Biden-Harris era’s lax enforcement that allowed millions of unvetted “migrants” to flood across the southern border. While the Trump team has faced setbacks elsewhere—federal judges blocking access to taxpayer data and food aid recipient info—this win opens a crucial pathway.

Migrant communities are vital to California’s vibrant culture and world leading economy.
 
 In CA, we’ll continue to protect our migrant communities this #InternationalMigrantsDay and every day.

— Rob Bonta (@AGRobBonta) December 18, 2025

For California, it’s a wake-up call. California, under Governor Gavin Newsom’s leadership, has doubled down on sanctuary status, defying federal immigration laws and pushing the public healthcare system intended for citizens, into insolvency. Who’s footing the bill? You guessed it—California taxpayers, already crushed by the nation’s highest gas prices, housing costs, and taxes.

By allowing data sharing, the ruling ensures that public benefits go to those entitled to them, not to individuals who entered or stayed illegally. If fewer undocumented immigrants enroll in Medicaid out of deportation fears, that’s not a bug—it’s a feature. It might even ease the strain on our healthcare system, which has been pushed to the brink by Newsom’s open-arms policies amid ongoing doctor shortages, emergency room overcrowding, and the failure of Obamacare.

Of course, the fight isn’t over. Chhabria’s order is preliminary and could be lifted if new policies emerge, but it sets a strong precedent. The full case will proceed, and expect more legal acrobatics from Bonta and his allies. Yet, for now, this is a triumph for accountability.

President Trump campaigned on securing the border and deporting those who break our laws, and with rulings like this, he’s delivering. Any taxpayer tired of subsidizing lawlessness—should cheer this development. It’s about time someone put America first, even if it means overriding the radical agendas California Democrats.