FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 13, 2025

Contact: Jack Cardinal, jcardinal@communitycatalyst.org  

BOSTON, MA – In response to the Associated Press reporting that top advisors to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. handed over the personal information of millions of Medicaid enrollees – including immigration status – to the Department of Homeland Security, Community Catalyst issued the following statement:

Statement from Mona Shah, Senior Director of Policy and Strategy at Community Catalyst:

“This is a dangerous escalation and violation of trust designed to instill fear, divide us, and scapegoat immigrant families — a playbook we’ve seen before, and one that harms us all. Health care must be a place where everyone — no matter their immigration status — can seek care without fear. Undermining that trust violates federal law and puts the health and well-being of entire communities at risk.

“We strongly support calls for swift congressional oversight. People deserve to know that when they enroll in Medicaid, their personal information won’t be weaponized against them. We must come together to stop these tactics that create fear, drive people away from care, and deepen inequities.”

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About Community Catalyst:   

Community Catalyst is a national organization dedicated to building the power of people to create a health system rooted in race equity and health justice, and a society where health is a right for all. We’re an experienced, trusted partner to organizations across the country, a change agent to policymakers at the local, state, and national level, and both an adversary and a collaborator to health systems in our efforts to advance health justice. We partner with local, state and national organizations and leaders to leverage and build power so that people are at the center of important decisions about health and health care, whether they are made by health care executives, in state houses, or on Capitol Hill. Together with partners, we’re building a powerful, united movement with a shared vision of and strategy for a health system accountable to all people. Learn more at www.communitycatalyst.org