A Trump administration policy that barred undocumented children in the United States from attending Head Start has been halted nationwide after a federal judge intervened.
The Thursday ruling in Washington state, builds on an earlier victory by 21 Democratic attorneys general who had already blocked the policy within their states. Head Start associations in several regions also joined the challenge, arguing that the Department of Health and Human Services directive would cause widespread harm.
With the decision, the administration’s rule is now suspended across the country. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said the agency disagrees with the ruling and is “evaluating next steps.”
The proposed change first surfaced in July, when HHS sought to reinterpret eligibility rules for federally funded programs. The department argued that immigrants without legal status should no longer be able to access Head Start or community health initiatives, both of which were opened to them under a Clinton-era law. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended the plan, saying it would discourage illegal immigration by reclassifying these services as federal public benefits. Such benefits, which include food stamps and student loans, are typically unavailable to people in the country unlawfully.
Judge Ricardo Martinez, who granted the preliminary injunction, found no justification for abandoning decades of precedent. In his written opinion, he warned that the rule would strip families of services they depend on. “It also results in parents losing childcare, risking missed work, unemployment, forced dropouts, and inability to pay life expenses and support families,” he wrote.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the policy could have pushed more than 100,000 children out of Head Start. Ming-Qi Chu of the American Civil Liberties Union said the move “happened very abruptly with no transition plan in place.”
Head Start providers had never been required to check the immigration status of applicants. Advocates said forcing them to do so would undermine trust in the program and discourage families from applying. They also pointed out that the rule was unclear about whether the status of a child, caregiver, or household member would be scrutinized.
Launched six decades ago under President Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start currently serves more than half a million low-income children nationwide. The program has survived political battles and financial instability before, including temporary closures earlier this year after federal grant freezes during President Donald Trump’s second term.
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