The Trump administration announced a sweeping set of measures on Thursday that will bar undocumented immigrants from accessing a wide range of federally funded social assistance programs.
According to reporting by the Washington Examiner, the new policy affects food stamps, homelessness assistance, Title X family planning funds, and substance abuse treatment programs.
This regulatory overhaul stems from a revised interpretation of the 1996 welfare reform law—the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, passed under President Bill Clinton. The Trump administration is reversing a 1998 directive that had allowed undocumented immigrants to benefit from certain public health services.
“For too long, taxpayers have watched their hard-earned dollars used to incentivize illegal immigration,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in a statement quoted by the Washington Examiner. He added that the move aims to “restore integrity to social programs, enforce the law, and safeguard vital resources for the American people.”
One of the key changes targets the Head Start program, which provides early education, nutrition, and social support to low-income families with young children. It will now be restricted to U.S. citizens and legal residents only.
The Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the change could redirect up to $374 million annually to eligible recipients. Head Start serves roughly one million children and families each year and was funded at $12.3 billion in fiscal year 2024.
“By reclassifying Head Start as a federal public benefit under PRWORA, we ensure taxpayer-funded services go to those who lawfully qualify,” said Andrew Gradison, Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, as cited by the Washington Examiner.
Other major programs affected include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which supports more than 42 million people nationwide. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins stated that the revised regulation corrects what she described as longstanding abuses. “Illegal aliens should not be receiving government funds,” she said, emphasizing the department’s ongoing efforts to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse.
As the Washington Examiner notes, the policy changes are also linked to the funding of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a major budget reconciliation law recently signed by President Trump.
According to estimates from the Urban Institute referenced in the article, as many as 22.3 million American families could see their SNAP benefits reduced or eliminated under the changes introduced by the new law.
Additional programs impacted include WIC (nutrition assistance for women, infants, and children), federally subsidized school meals, and the USDA’s disaster food assistance program, the Washington Examiner reported.
