On September 11, 2025, Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) introduced the Limiting ICE’s National Encroachment (LINE) Act, a bill aimed at blocking federal immigration authorities from accessing health care data gathered through programs like Medicaid.
Kamlager-Dove opened her remarks by honoring the 24th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a moment of silence, reflecting on the weight of the day for New Yorkers, Washingtonians, and all Americans. She then pivoted to the bill’s focus: protecting personal health information from being shared with immigration enforcement.
According to Kamlager-Dove, recent moves by federal agencies, including the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), raised concerns after reports that CMS had agreed to give Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) access to the data of nearly 79 million Medicaid enrollees. She warned that such a step could discourage people from seeking needed medical care out of fear their information might be used for arrests or deportations.
The LINE Act seeks to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS from disclosing health care data to ICE for enforcement purposes. Kamlager-Dove emphasized that health care should never be tied to immigration status, nor should private data become a tool for surveillance or enforcement actions.
Standing alongside colleagues including Representatives Juan Vargas, Garcia, Ramirez, Simon, and Rivas, Kamlager-Dove underscored that the legislation was about drawing a clear boundary between personal health care and immigration enforcement. Vargas is also backing a complementary measure to prevent housing data from being shared in similar ways.
Kamlager-Dove also expressed strong criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, characterizing recent enforcement actions in Los Angeles as sweeping and indiscriminate, with raids extending into everyday spaces like schools, churches, and workplaces. She argued that turning personal data into an enforcement tool would amplify fear and undermine public trust.
In her remarks, she also questioned the qualifications of key officials leading HHS, CMS, and DHS, expressing alarm at the idea of such leaders handling sensitive personal data.
The LINE Act, she said, is not just about protecting immigrant families but about safeguarding the privacy of all Americans. “Hands off our data,” she concluded, calling for continued efforts to secure both health care access and personal privacy.
Source: Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove
