The ban forces Head Start to start screening children for their immigration status for first time in 60-year history
The Trump administration’s ban on immigrants in the country illegally from enrolling in Head Start could deprive young children of vital access to early education and strip families of the opportunity to support themselves and find work, local advocates told the Globe.
The prohibition — which forces Head Start to start screening children and families for their immigration status for the first time in its 60-year history — also threatens to sow fear among immigrants, regardless of whether they have legal status, and keeps them from accessing education, health, and other social services, advocates said.
Michelle Haimowitz, the executive director of the Massachusetts Head Start Association, said the new ban undercuts the relationships Head Start’s teachers have with families and will prevent adults from finding work through the federal program.
“Immigration status has never been part of the equation of what families need to survive in this country,” Haimowitz said in an interview. “And so any of these attempts to impose these requirements deeply threaten the work that we do.”
Head Start, a federal program that has served more than 40 million children and their families since 1965, provides access to early learning, health, and nutrition, as well as help for adults to find work, according to the federal government. The roughly $12 billion program served more than 778,000 children and pregnant women in fiscal 2023.
In Massachusetts alone, Head Start assists more than 11,000 children and their families each year, including connecting children to medical, dental, and vision screenings, according to the state organization.
Immigrants who are in the country without authorization have generally not been eligible for public benefits like food stamps. But some federally funded community programs, like Head Start, have not blocked immigrants from receiving help.
President Trump ran on a platform that called for a crackdown on illegal immigration, and his administration has used federal agents to detain and deport thousands of immigrants since taking office. And on Thursday, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced the Head Start ban over concerns taxpayer money should be used to benefit Americans, and not immigrants in the country illegally.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s HHS secretary, said in a statement that the government previously has “diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration.”
Kennedy said the ban “restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.”
The ban would apply to Head Start, along with other federally funded programs, including Community Services Block Grants, mental health, workforce, transitional housing assistance, and substance use and treatment services, according to HHS.
Heather Yountz, an attorney with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said the ban was “shameful” and is part of a larger effort to target immigrant children, including by allowing ICE to enter schools and cutting spending on legal services for children seeking asylum.
Yountz raised several concerns about the order, which she believes is open to legal challenge.
“Trump’s action will have a chilling effect on all immigrants, not just low-income babies and toddlers,” Yountz said in an email.
The federal ban comes months after the Trump administration considered eliminating Head Start funding to help pay for tax cuts. The administration ultimately did not carry out the move, but it left advocates worried.
Sharon Scott-Chandler, the president and CEO of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), which oversees Head Start services for children living in Greater Boston and the Mystic Valley, said her organization was still trying to understand how the ban will affect their operation.
In 2024, ABCD Head Start served around 2,000 families and more than 2,100 children, according to the organization.
“We want children to grow up and be productive, educated, healthy young people and then citizens,” Scott-Chandler said in an interview. “So I think creating barriers [and] creating distinctions between children is going to have an impact on how we can make communities healthier.”
People who rely on ABCD for assistance, but are worried about the ban, should continue coming to the organization, she said.
“We don’t close the door on anyone,” Scott-Chandler said.
Critics like Gladys Vega, president and chief executive officer of Chelsea-based La Colaborativa, which provides medical care and access to meals to Latino immigrants, said the ban’s impact will be felt by American citizens. Many immigrant households include both people who are citizens and those who aren’t, she said.
“We believe that no child should be neglected, left behind, or punished for the status of their parents,” Vega said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, in a statement, said Head Start has been a critical part of providing early childhood education.
“At the City level, we’ve seen how much the entire community benefits when we remove barriers for working families to access critical supports and when our youngest students have the best preparation for Kindergarten,” Wu said.
Elizabeth Sweet, the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, called for the ban to be rescinded.
“Cutting off access to essential early education opportunities for immigrant children is deeply harmful and misguided,” Sweet said.