Federal officials have yet to issue guidance for Head Start providers on the new rules, which take effect immediately. They also skipped a 30-day review policy, the lawsuit alleges.
Early childhood education advocates, including the Illinois Head Start Association, are seeking to expand their ongoing lawsuit against the Trump administration to include new immigration status checks that the plaintiffs say are unlawful.
The lawsuit, filed by the American Civil Liberties Union for Head Start advocates in Illinois and five other states in April, accuses the president of harming the longtime federal preschool program for low-income families through a series of illegal changes, the latest on Thursday targeting undocumented immigrants.
That’s when federal officials said they would begin using a new interpretation of a 1996 law defining “federal public benefits” to begin checking the immigration status of applicants to Head Start and other social programs administered by the departments of Health and Human Services as well as Education.
A spokesperson for Health and Human Services — who could not immediately be reached Tuesday — has previously said the agency doesn’t comment on ongoing litigation.
The announcement included no guidance for Head Start providers to follow, or details including whose immigration status will be considered for eligibility — the child’s or the parents. Plus, the lawsuit said, federal officials skipped a required 30-day notice and comment period.
In Illinois, about 28,000 children too young for kindergarten attend Head Start programs.
“In Chicago, our programs already see families living in fear — including refugees, undocumented parents, and those here on student visas,” Lauri Morrison-Frichtl, executive director of Illinois Head Start, said in a news release. “This directive adds to that fear, denying children critical educational opportunities and threatening the well-being of entire communities.”