In its continuing efforts to eliminate the federal government’s connection to the education of American children, the Trump administration says undocumented children will no longer have access to federally funded preschool through Head Start.

Just days before the Supreme Court ruled that the government could continue mass layoffs to effectively dismantle the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would be barring undocumented people from benefiting from federally subsidized programs.

Using the term “illegal aliens,” which is generally considered offensive, an HHS press release said that the agency is rescinding a 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 issued under President Clinton, which allowed particular public benefits to be accessed by noncitizens.

Head Start, the federal program that gives early childhood education, nutritional and health aid to low-income children, is on the HHS list of programs defined by the administration as a “federal public benefit.” Others include Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, Community Mental Health Services Block Grant, Community Services Block Grant, and Title IV-E Educational and Training Voucher Program, among several others.

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. apparently believes that removing undocumented children from a program that has long benefited all children in America will save taxpayers $374 million. “For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” said Kennedy.

The program will be regarded by the Trump administration as a public benefit, according to ChalkBeat and officials say it falls in line with a February executive order intended to block undocumented immigrants from obtaining any federally funded public benefits.

But Head Start advocates have blasted the decision as detrimental to all children who should be eligible for the program.

“This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children,” Yasmina Vinci, the executive director of the nonprofit National Head Start Association in a statement. “Head Start programs strive to make every child feel welcome, safe, and supported, and reject the characterization of any child as ‘illegal.’”

Head Start has provided preschool services to more than 544,000 families in the 2022-23 school year, and Early Head Start has helped more than 186,000 children and expectant parents, according to Chalkbeat.

The program’s providers will now be required to check the citizenship or immigration status of children attempting to enroll. The National Head Start Association argues that  “attempts to impose such a requirement threaten to create fear and confusion among all families.”

Advocates also believe that keeping kids out of Head Start will have repercussions later on. Kindergartners who start without preschool could have problems with working with other kids, learning colors or their alphabet. Also, health screenings could be missed as well. 

“We’re really shortchanging our community by cutting them off from strong early childhood programs that are going to put them on the right path to be successful in K-12 schools where they have a guaranteed right to attend,” Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, co-founder of the National Newcomer Network told ChalkBeat.

Government officials say the changes will be effective once they are published in the Federal Register. The new rules have been submitted. The public will have 30 days to comment.


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