That long-standing interpretation, HHS said, "improperly extended certain federal public benefits to illegal aliens," thus "undercutting the law by allowing illegal aliens to access programs Congress intended only for the American people."
"For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans' tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration," HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in statement. "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."
The HHS rule change follows a February executive order from President Donald Trump ordering federal agencies to increase restrictions on undocumented immigrants' access to taxpayer-funded services.
In addition to Head Start—the federally funded preschool program that Trump unsuccessfully sought to eliminate from the budget reconciliation legislation he recently signed—the new HHS interpretation applies to all programs classified as "federal public benefits" under PRWORA. These include health clinics, mental health services block grants, homelessness transition block grants, substance abuse treatment, and other programs.
Critics condemned the HHS move.
"Head Start programs strive to make every child feel welcome, safe, and supported, and reject the characterization of any child as 'illegal,'" said Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the advocacy group National Head Start Association.
"The Head Start Act has never required documentation of immigration status as a condition for enrollment over the last 60 years," Vinci added. "Attempts to impose such a requirement threaten to create fear and confusion among all families who are focused on raising healthy children, ready to succeed in school and life."
The HHS policy change is part of the Trump administration's wider anti-immigrant agenda. The president has launched a mass deportation drive, opened the "Alligator Alcatraz" concentration camp in the Florida Everglades, stripped temporary protected status from numerous nationalities, pushed to end birthright citizenship, and arrested and jailed green-card holders for peacefully protesting genocide—among other xenophobic and racist policies and practices.
