The Trump administration holds hands on the immigrant medicine data, targets the ‘unsatisfactory immigration status’; Confidentiality enhances concerns of law
The Trump administration provided access to personal data to exile this week, including the status of immigration, millions of medicid enrollies, increasing legal and moral concerns within the government.Internal memo and email have shown that officials of the Centers of Medicare and Medicade Services (CMS) objected to the data transfer, arguing that it could violate federal laws such as the Social Security Act and the Privacy Act of 1974, the AP said.Despite his objections, two senior advisors of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Junior ordered to share information with the Homeland Security Department (DHS). On Tuesday, just 54 minutes were given to comply with the CMS.Andrew Nixon, a spokesman of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), said that data sharing was in line with legal and federal rules. He refused to explain why the data was shared or how DHS planned to use it.Data included names, addresses, social security numbers and people’s information in California, Illinois, Washington State and Washington, DC-states stated that non-citizens are allowed to obtain state-funded medicines. Immigration enforcement in southern California was increasing as it was released.Experts stated that the information could be used to detect unspecified immigrants and potentially to deny the green card, permanent residence, or citizenship for those who had received federally funded medicade benefits.The office of California Governor Gavin Newsom expressed concern over the move, calling it “extremely related” and “potentially illegal”. The statement also criticized the use of personal information in federal immigration enforcement efforts.Last month, CMS announced a target review of Medicade Enroll in some states to ensure that federal funds were not used for people with “unsatisfactory immigration status”. Memo showed that CMS officials tried to block the request of the DHS, saying that the data was only to administer the medicid, not for immigration enforcement.
