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Banning undocumented students from Head Start is illegal, ACLU argues in lawsuit
The ACLU and other groups are challenging the Trump administration's move to ban undocumented children from Head Start.
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Cory Turner
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NPR
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Topline:
The American Civil Liberties Union and others have filed legal action against the Trump administration over a new policy that bans undocumented children from attending Head Start, the federally funded preschool program.
The backstory: Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that children without legal status could no longer attend the early education program, effective immediately. The program serves about 80,000 children in California. It has never required children to prove their immigration status in the 60 years it has existed, according to the National Head Start Association, and the federal government affirmed that right in a 1998 policy.
What’s new? Today, the ACLU and other groups filed a motion in an existing lawsuit over Head Start, in an attempt to stop the changes.
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The impact: The announcement last week caused confusion among Head Start providers over how to implement the new rule. “We haven't seen official direction about what the expectations are for us as an administrator of the program,” said Donna Sneeringer, chief strategy officer at the Child Care Resource Center, which serves about 2,500 children in its Head Start programs in Los Angeles county. HHS said guidance would be forthcoming.
Fewer students: Head Start providers have told LAist there is already fear among communities around immigration enforcement and that they have seen lower enrollment or attendance numbers. “I think this is just another layer of concern and worry for parents and their very young children who don't know what the future holds for them,” Sneeringer said.
Corrected July 16, 2025 at 2:14 PM PDT
An earlier version of this story misattributed a quote to Sneeringer.
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