ICE’s New Access to Medicaid Data Sparks ‘Chilling Effect’ on Immigrant Health Care

Across the country, local leaders and grassroots organizations have stepped up efforts to defend immigrants' rights amid heightened federal enforcement. In San Francisco, District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder has led resolutions reaffirming the city's sanctuary status and opposing arrests at immigration courts. Meanwhile, faith and civic groups are hosting public forums and filing lawsuits to protect vulnerable populations.

• In Bradenton, the Manatee Unitarian Universalist Church convened a panel of immigration attorneys and activists to dispense "facts over fear".

• In Los Angeles, educators organized role-playing sessions and "walking school buses" to teach students and families how to assert their constitutional rights.

• In Milwaukee, Lutheran congregations sued the Department of Homeland Security, arguing that repealing "sensitive locations" protections at churches infringes on religious freedom and chills worship attendance.

New York Attorney General Letitia James joined her counterparts in California and Michigan on July 28 to file a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's demand for sensitive personal information from roughly 2.9 million New Yorkers on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The suit, filed in California's Northern District, seeks to block a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) order requiring states to hand over names, Social Security numbers, addresses and immigration statuses for all recipients dating back to 2020.

The coalition of 22 states argues that the data request exceeds the USDA's authority, violates state and federal privacy laws and represents a pretext for immigration enforcement. The USDA has threatened to withhold administrative funding if states do not comply by the July 30 deadline.

Federal agents have begun unscheduled welfare checks on families caring for unaccompanied minors in southern Minnesota, triggering fear and anxiety among children and caregivers. According to local attorneys, about 30 homes were visited in June alone, part of a broader push under the Trump administration to tighten immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, roughly 300 unaccompanied minors have been released to caregivers in Minnesota since October 2024, with more than 4,000 arriving between 2021 and 2024. All will face deportation hearings—often without lawyers or guardians—at Fort Snelling Immigration Court, where some appear alone and struggle to navigate technical procedures and complex legal options.

A year after the Southport stabbing and nationwide anti-immigrant riots, Britain faces fresh unrest and political strain.

• Anniversary Commemoration: Three minutes of silence are set in Southport for the three girls killed last summer—misidentified online as victims of a migrant attacker.


• Rising Street Tensions: Protests in Epping have seen far-right groups join local demonstrations against a hotel housing asylum seekers, prompting more than a dozen arrests.


• Humanitarian Response: Meanwhile, the RNLI reported 114 English Channel incidents in 2024, rescuing 58 migrants—including a dramatic dinghy rescue of 19 people captured in newly released footage.

Britain's government pledges tougher Channel controls and an end to hotel lodging, but critics warn this may legitimize intolerance and fails to address root causes of fear and misinformation.

The Trump administration has granted ICE access to personal Medicaid records for 79 million enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities, to identify and locate immigrants without legal status. Civil rights groups, backed by a 20-state lawsuit, argue that this unprecedented data sharing violates HIPAA and the Social Security Act and will discourage vulnerable communities from seeking both emergency and routine medical treatment.

Advocates warn of a 'chilling effect', noting canceled appointments, a shift to telehealth and broader public-health risks during outbreaks like COVID-19 and measles. They caution that even lawful residents and U.S. citizens enrolled in Medicaid could face heightened scrutiny if ICE expands its use of the data.