Attorney General Ellison secures preliminary injunction blocking Minnesota's Medicaid data from being used unlawfully for immigration enforcement purposes

August 13, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted Minnesota and a multistate coalition a preliminary injunction in response to their July 1 lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s illegal sharing of Medicaid data, known in Minnesota as Medical Assistance, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The injunction found that the multistate coalition was likely to succeed on its claim that the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) decision to provide unfettered access to individual personal health data to DHS, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s prohibition on arbitrary and capricious actions by federal agencies. 

The preliminary injunction blocks DHS from using Medicaid data obtained from plaintiff states for immigration enforcement purposes, and blocks HHS from sharing Medicaid data obtained from coalition states with DHS for immigration enforcement purposes. The preliminary injunction will remain in place until either 14 days after HHS and DHS complete a reasoned decision-making process that complies with the Administrative Procedure Act, or until litigation concludes. 

“I am pleased to have won a court order blocking Donald Trump from using Medicaid data for immigration enforcement purposes,” said Attorney General Ellison. “This unprecedented decision was made without notice and without regard to longstanding protections for patient data. The climate of fear this action created will likely cause people to forego necessary and authorized medical care and that is unacceptable. My goal is not to sue President Trump and his administration, it is to defend the rule and fairness and help all Minnesotans afford their lives and live with dignity, safety and respect. However, I will take the President and his administration to court as often as I must to uphold the rule of law and protect the people of Minnesota.”

The July 1 lawsuit highlighted that the Trump Administration’s illegal actions are creating fear and confusion leading noncitizens and their family members to disenroll, or refuse to enroll, in emergency Medicaid for which they are otherwise eligible, leaving states and their safety net hospitals to foot the bill for federally mandated emergency healthcare services. In the limited preliminary injunction order, the court ruled that the Trump Administration’s actions were likely arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, in part because the Administration failed to consider that states, providers, and patients have long relied on assurances that patient data would not be used for immigration enforcement purposes.

Created in 1965, Medicaid is an essential source of health insurance for lower-income individuals and particular underserved population groups, including children, pregnant women, individuals with disabilities, and seniors.  The Medicaid program allows each participating state to develop and administer its own unique health plans; states must meet threshold federal statutory criteria, but they can tailor their plans’ eligibility standards and coverage options to residents’ needs. As of January 2025, 78.4 million people were enrolled in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) nationwide.  

Medical Assistance is Minnesota’s largest health care program.  Medical Assistance provides health coverage for over one million Minnesotans, or approximately one in every five state residents. In Minnesota, 42% of Medical Assistance enrollees are children, 14% are parents, and another 9% are people with disabilities.

Attorney General Ellison was joined in filing the lawsuit by Attorney General Bonta of California, who led the filing, as well as the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.