California Sues over Federal Policy Shift Barring Undocumented Families from Head Start, Other Programs

[Update: Mon., July 28, 2025, 10:28am] On July 25, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 20 other attorneys general secured an agreement temporarily preventing the Trump administration from barring undocumented immigrants from programs like Head Start before September 3, 2025. The coalition continues to seek a court order enjoining the Trump administration from implementing the order for the duration of the litigation. 

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[Original Story] After months of budget threats to Head Start, the axe hasn’t quite fallen — but the door has just slammed shut on hundreds of undocumented families across Santa Barbara County.

Now, California is trying to pry that door back open.

In a lawsuit filed this week, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 20 states are challenging the federal government’s abrupt decision to bar undocumented immigrants from programs like Head Start — arguing it’s unlawful, inhumane, and a direct threat to children and families across the country.

In a major policy shift announced July 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reclassified Head Start and several other social programs as “federal public benefits” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996. The move rescinds a 1998 Clinton-era policy that allowed some undocumented immigrants to access services like early education, behavioral health clinics, and family planning programs.

That access is now over.

The change — effective immediately — means that undocumented immigrants are no longer eligible for Head Start, a program used by roughly 600 low-income families countywide for free preschool, meals, and basic health services. Other programs now off-limits include the Community Services Block Grant, Title X family planning, and multiple mental health and substance use initiatives.

“For too long, the government has diverted hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration,” said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the department’s 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 department estimates the new rule will redirect as much as $374 million annually in Head Start services to U.S. citizens.

Locally, it may mean dozens — if not hundreds — of preschool-aged children will be turned away, many of whom are in mixed-status households or have siblings still eligible for services.

The policy falls under the umbrella of Executive Order 14218, signed by President Trump in February, which directed agencies to “end taxpayer subsidization of open borders.” It also arrives just months after the administration proposed a full defunding of Head Start in leaked budget documents, raising alarms among educators and parent advocates across the state.

HHS claims the new interpretation merely restores PRWORA’s “plain-language definition” of benefits, adding that “no HHS programs have been formally exempted” from the eligibility requirement.

Whether California will succeed in challenging the ruling remains to be seen. For now, Santa Barbara’s Head Start system is holding on. However, potential budget cuts threaten the system.

The rule does not change total funding levels — yet — but it does shift who gets served and who no longer qualifies.

Patricia Keelean, CEO of CommUnify — the nonprofit that operates Head Start across the county — said the consequences will be immediate and far-reaching. “Families may have no choice but to leave their children with relatives or they may have to go into day care settings where they may not get the quality education that they get with Head Start and therefore wouldn’t be ready for kindergarten,” Keelean said.

Keelean emphasized that “Head Start changes lives,” and pointed out that “children who attend Head Start have a greater likelihood of graduating high school and going to college.” She added that “all politics aside, CommUnify has a community action promise to serve the community regardless of race, class, anything.”

Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that the new rule is not only cruel, but unlawful. They say it violates the Administrative Procedure Act, lacks proper public notice, and places impossible burdens on families and social service agencies alike.

In California alone, the verification requirements could cost hundreds of millions in lost benefits and shutter entire programs that serve all residents — not just undocumented ones. Bonta is asking the court to immediately block the policy while the lawsuit proceeds.

“We’re not talking about waste, fraud, and abuse,” Bonta said. “We’re talking about programs that deliver essential childcare, healthcare, nutrition, and education assistance — programs that have for decades been open to all because we understand that we are better off when everyone has the chance to succeed.”

The public has until August 13 to comment on the new rule here.

Editor’s Note: After this story was published, Head Start clarified that layoffs, while happening nationally, are not happening within Santa Barbara and that families may have put their children into day care, not foster care, as a result of the policy shift.