WashingtonThe Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday that the Trump administration will prevent illegal immigrants from enrolling in a federally sponsored preschool program. The action is a component of a larger initiative to restrict undocumented immigrants’ access to federal assistance.
Most people who are in the country illegally are not eligible for federal student loans, food stamps, or financial aid for higher education. However, they have had access to community-level services like Head Start and community health centers for decades.
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According to HHS, those programs will no longer be available to illegal immigrants since they would be reclassified as federal public benefits. The Health Secretary stated that the modifications were a component of a broader endeavor to safeguard the interests of Americans.
Kennedy said in a statement that the government has been using tax monies from hardworking Americans to encourage illegal immigration for far too long. The action taken today upholds the rule of law, safeguards essential resources for the American people, and restores the integrity of government social programs.
According to a representative for the administering Administration for Children and Families, the child’s immigrant status will be taken into consideration when determining eligibility.
Families looking to enroll their children would probably object if documentation of immigration status was required, according to Yasmina Vinci, executive director of the National Head Start Association.
“This decision disregards decades of evidence that Head Start is essential to our collective future and undermines the fundamental commitment that the nation has made to children,” Vinci stated.
The modifications are a part of a multi-agency notice that revokes a federal law interpretation from the administration of former President Bill Clinton that had permitted access to certain programs for illegal immigrants. Similar adjustments impacting other workforce development and adult education programs were announced by the Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Labor.
According to Shelby Gonzales, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, the changes will impact community health centers that immigrants depend on for a variety of services.
People rely on those services for continuing care for a range of health requirements, including cancer treatment,” she said.
The Education Department declared that students who are in the country illegally will no longer be able to enroll in adult education programs. Additionally, the government sent out a reminder to grantees to make sure federally funded programs don’t serve undocumented immigrants.
The ruling will hurt young people who have grown up in this country, according to education advocates. According to Augustus Mays, vice president of EdTrust, the goal seems to be instilling fear among immigrant populations.
Such policies don’t just happen,” Mays stated. They stem from a political agenda that utilizes immigrants as scapegoats and instills fear in order to deny the most vulnerable among us resources and rights.
As part of the Democratic President’s War on Poverty, Head Start was established sixty years ago. It serves those living in poverty by offering preschool, developmental treatment, and child care in all 50 states. ___
This article was written by Cheyanne Mumphrey of the Associated Press in Phoenix.
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