Trump demands Medicaid data for deportation. Some states go further.

HealthWatch Trump demands Medicaid data for deportation. Some states go a step further. .chip { background-image: url('/fly/bundles/cbsnewscore/images/chip-bgd/chip-bgd-healthwatch.jpg'); } By Andrew Jones May 14, 2026 / 5:00 AM EDT / KFF Health News Add CBS News on Google Several states have joined President Trump's deportation efforts and are taking federal reporting requirements to immigration authorities a step further — by using their public health agencies as arms of enforcement.North Carolina, in late April, became the latest member of a growing group of Republican-led states to require their public health agencies to flag recipients of Medicaid to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security if their legal status is in question.It's a trend health policy researchers expect to spread among GOP-controlled states eager to join Mr. Trump in the federal crackdown on Medicaid fraud and illegal immigration. Already, at least four states — Indiana, Louisiana, Montana, and Wyoming — have passed similar laws, and lawmakers in others, such as Oklahoma and Tennessee, are weighing measures. In those six states, Republicans hold a power trifecta — both chambers of the legislature and the governor's office. "This is an issue that is very much on the political radar right now," said Carmel Shachar, a health policy researcher at Harvard Law School.More than 75 million people are enrolled in Medicaid, the federal and state-run public health program for people with disabilities and low incomes, and its related Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides low-cost coverage for people under 19. Immigrants without legal status are ineligible for Medicaid benefits, but a swath of noncitizens qualify, such as green-card holders, asylees, and refugees. A quarter of children in the U.S., most of them citizens, live with an immigrant.Yet the new reporting laws add a layer of risk for immigrants seeking healthcare in the U.S., where mandates from the Whi...