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Boston Globe

Immigration restrictions on Head Start ‘deeply threaten' program's work, state leader says

Advertisement 'Immigration status has never been part of the equation of what families need to survive in this country,' Haimowitz said in an interview. 'And so any of these attempts to impose these requirements deeply threaten the work that we do.' Head Start, In Massachusetts alone, Head Start assists more than 11,000 children and their families each year, including connecting children to medical, dental, and vision screenings, according to the state organization. Advertisement Immigrants who are in the country without authorization have generally not been eligible for public benefits like food stamps. But some federally funded community programs, like Head Start, have not blocked immigrants from receiving help. President Trump Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Trump's HHS secretary, Kennedy said the ban 'restores integrity to federal social programs, enforces the rule of law, and protects vital resources for the American people.' The ban would apply to Head Start, along with other federally funded programs, including Community Services Block Grants, mental health, workforce, transitional housing assistance, and substance use and treatment services, according to HHS. Heather Yountz, an attorney with the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, said the ban was 'shameful,' and is part of a larger effort to target immigrant children, including by allowing ICE to enter schools and cutting spending on legal services for children seeking asylum. Yountz raised several concerns about the order, which she believes is open to legal challenge. 'Trump's action will have a chilling effect on all immigrants, not just low-income babies and toddlers,' Yountz said in an e-mail. The federal ban comes months after the Trump administration Advertisement Sharon Scott-Chandler, the president and CEO of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD), which oversees Head Start services children living in Greater Boston and the Mystic Valley, said her organization was still trying to understand how the ban will affect their operation. In 2024, ABCD Head Start served around 2,000 families and more than 2,100 children, according to the organization. 'We want children to grow up and be productive, educated, healthy young people and then citizens,' Scott-Chandler said in an interview. 'So I think creating barriers [and] creating distinctions between children is going to have an impact on how we can make communities healthier.' People who rely on ABCD for assistance, and are worried about the ban, should continue coming to the organization, she said. 'We don't close the door on anyone,' Scott-Chandler said. Critics like Gladys Vega, president and chief executive officer of Chelsea-based La Colaborativa, which provides medical care and access to meals to Latino immigrants, said the ban's impact will be felt by American citizens. Many immigrant households include both people who are citizens and those who aren't, she said. 'We believe that no child should be neglected, left behind or punished for the status of their parents,' Vega said. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, in a statement, said Head Start has been a critical part of providing early childhood education. 'At the City level, we've seen how much the entire community benefits when we remove barriers for working families to access critical supports and when our youngest students have the best preparation for Kindergarten,' Wu said. Advertisement Elizabeth Sweet, the executive director of the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition, called for the ban to be rescinded. 'Cutting off access to essential early education opportunities for immigrant children is deeply harmful and misguided,' Sweet said. Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. John Hilliard can be reached at