OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Washington has joined a multistate lawsuit against the Trump administration for sharing residents’ personal health data with federal immigration officials.

The Washington State Health Care Authority announced earlier this month that data from 1.7 million Medicaid enrollees was turned over to ICE without notice.

The shared information includes immigration status, addresses and social security numbers.

The states claim in the suit that the data is being used to help build a database for mass deportations, despite federal rules protecting the privacy of Medicaid recipients.

State Attorney General Nick Brown says the move violates federal law and puts immigrant communities at risk, undermining trust in the healthcare system.

“Washington residents expect that the confidential information they give to the government to access medical treatment will only be used for healthcare purposes,” said Brown. “Their data should not go towards creating a giant database of Americans’ personal information or used so that ICE can deport undocumented immigrants because they had to go to the doctor.”

The lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in federal court, seeks to block any further data transfers or use of the information for immigration enforcement.