Head Start Ban: Trump Administration Says Undocumented Immigrants Blocked From Program
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks before U.S. Agriculture Secretary ... More Brooke Rollins signs three new SNAP food choice waivers for the states of Idaho, Utah, and Arkansas on June 10, 2025 in Washington.On Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced it officially rescinded a Clinton administration interpretation of the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, which extended some federal public programs to undocumented immigrants.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the government will no longer 'incentivize illegal immigration' by providing certain federal programs to undocumented immigrants.
Programs blocked for undocumented immigrants as a result of the policy include Head Start, substance abuse treatment, mental health services, homelessness transition services and Title X family planning.
Head Start did not previously require documentation of immigrant status as an enrollment requirement.
Head Start is a federal early-childhood program that provides education, health and family services to low-income children and families. The program is aimed at improving school readiness and serves children from prenatal through age 5. Head Start has served over 40 million children. Key Background
Trump issued an executive order in February directing federal agencies to crack down on undocumented immigrants' access to programs subsidized by taxpayers. Undocumented immigrants paid $55.8 billion in federal taxes and $33.9 billion in state and local taxes in 2023, according to the American Immigration Council. Some of the programs that HHS is restricting access to, such as Head Start, haven't historically determined program eligibility based on immigration status.
'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,' said Yasmina Vinci, the executive director of the 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.''
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