Head Start: Another blow to undocumented immigrants

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Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday said his department is immediately restricting undocumented immigrants’ access to Head Start, community health centers and other federal benefits, as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

Undocumented immigrants are already prevented from accessing most federal benefits.

But HHS is taking the additional step of rescinding a 1998 notice that defined certain publicly-funded programs like free preschool and accessible health clinics in a way that allowed undocumented immigrants to use them.
Where it stands: Head Start, federally funded health centers, mental health and substance use disorder treatment programs and block grants, the Title X family planning program and nine other programs will now be considered federal benefits.

Additional programs could be added to the list, HHS says.

The change follows a February executive order from President Trump directing federal agencies to tighten restrictions on undocumented people’s access to taxpayer-funded benefits.

Undocumented immigrants paid $55.8 billion in federal taxes in 2023, according to the American Immigration Council.

“This decision undermines the fundamental commitment that the country has made to children and disregards decades of evidence that Head Start is essential to our collective future,” Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association, in a statement.

“The Head Start Act has never required documentation of immigration status as a condition for enrollment over the last 60 years,” she said.

“Attempts to impose such a requirement threaten to create fear and confusion among all families who are focused on raising healthy children, ready to succeed in school and life.”