Judge issues nationwide block on Trump policy that cuts off Head Start
for people in US illegally
[September 12, 2025]
By MAKIYA SEMINERA
A federal judge has issued a nationwide block on a Trump administration
directive that prevented children in the U.S. illegally from enrolling
in Head Start, a federally funded preschool program.
Head Start associations in several states filed suit against the policy
change by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The ruling
by a federal judge in Washington state on Thursday comes after a
coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general succeeded in temporarily
halting the policy’s implementation within their own states.
With the new ruling, the policy is now on hold across the country.
Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesman, said the agency disagrees with the
court’s decisions and is evaluating next steps.
In July, HHS proposed a rule reinterpretation to disallow immigrants in
the country illegally from receiving certain social services, including
Head Start and other community health programs. Those programs were
previously made accessible by a federal law in President Bill Clinton’s
administration.
The change was part of a broader Trump administration effort to exclude
people without legal status from accessing social services by making changes to federal eligibility rules.
Those immigrants would be barred from accessing the impacted programs
because they would be reclassified as federal public benefits — an
alteration that Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said could
disincentivize illegal immigration. People in the country unlawfully are
largely ineligible for federal public benefits, which include food
stamps and student loans.
In issuing the preliminary injunction Thursday, Judge Ricardo Martinez
said he saw no reason for a change to the interpretation of eligibility
that has been in place for decades. He said it threatened access to
services that families rely upon.
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President Donald Trump, right, and first lady Melania Trump attend a
ceremony in the Pentagon courtyard to commemorate the 24th
anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
"It also results in parents losing childcare, risking missed work,
unemployment, forced dropouts, and inability to pay life expenses
and support families,” Martinez wrote.
The policy changes threatened to lead to the disenrollment of more
than 100,000 children from Head Start programs, which have
historically played a large role in supporting immigrant families,
said Ming-Qi Chu, one of the American Civil Liberties Union
attorneys representing the plaintiffs.
"This happened very abruptly with no transition plan in place,” Chu
said.
Head Start providers weren’t previously required to screen
applicants’ immigration status, which the plaintiffs argued would
sow distrust with the program and ultimately lead to a decline in
enrollment. Ambiguity over whose immigration status would be checked
— a caregiver’s, a child’s or another household member’s status —
also could create confusion for families, the plaintiffs said.
Head Start was started six decades ago as part of President Lyndon
B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. Nationwide, its centers serve more than
half a million low-income children.
The early childhood education program has weathered waves of
instability and disruptions to its services. Federal grant freezes
and subsequent temporary closures of some Head Start programs
started just a few weeks into President Donald Trump’s second term
earlier this year.
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