HHS blocks illegal immigrants from Head Start program, saving $374 million

The Trump administration announced Thursday that the Department of Health and Human Services will ban illegal immigrants from accessing taxpayer-funded services, including the popular Head Start early childhood education program. 

The agency announced that it will rescind the 1998 interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), which extended certain federal public benefits to those living in the United States illegally. 

“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “Today’s action changes that — it restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”

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The PRWORA, known as welfare reform, passed during the Clinton administration and granted states greater autonomy to manage social welfare programs. 

The new policy applies PRWORA’s plain-language definition of a “federal public benefit,” affirms that programs serving individuals, households or families are subject to eligibility restrictions and clarifies that no HHS programs have been formally exempted under PRWORA’s limited exceptions, HHS said. 

Among the programs no longer accessible to illegal immigrants will be Head Start, an early childhood education and nutrition program for low-income families. 

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An HHS preliminary analysis estimates American citizens could receive as much as $374 million in additional Head Start services annually.

“Alongside HHS, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is committed to providing and protecting resources that serve America’s most vulnerable,” said acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. “Head Start’s classification under the new PRWORA interpretation puts American families first by ensuring taxpayer-funded benefits are reserved for eligible individuals.”

Other services now classified under the “federal public benefit” category include grant programs for workforce programs, mental health and substance abuse, among others. 

The new policy takes effect upon publication in the Federal Register and has a 30-day comment period.