California granted temporary win in legal battle against Trump

A court order has temporarily paused a federal policy that would prohibit undocumented immigrants from accessing certain public programs, including health care and education services. 

The Trump administration’s policy change would require these programs to verify recipients’ immigration status, a move that would reverse a policy implemented by the Clinton administration in 1997 that extended “public benefit” programs to everyone, including undocumented immigrants. Programs affected by the policy change would include Head Start, childcare services, adult education, food banks and more.

“With today’s decision, vital education, nutrition and health programs like Head Start — and the families who rely on their services — can breathe a sigh of relief,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a Sept. 10 news release. He added, “The Trump Administration continues to pull the rug out from under California families just trying to get by, but we’re fighting back. We’re grateful that a district court has put a stop to this cruel new directive while our litigation continues.”

California was joined by 20 other states in suing the administration over the policy change. Soon after the lawsuit was filed on July 21, the coalition secured a temporary pause which prevented the administration from implementing the policy change before September 10. Last week, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island issued a preliminary injunction blocking the changes from being implemented while litigation continues. 

Bonta called the proposed change “cruel, but unfortunately unsurprising,” stating that the programs being affected would mostly affect vulnerable working-class families. 

Head Start, an early-education program that serves over 750,000 low-income students nationally, would no longer be able to serve students from undocumented households. In 2023-24, California’s Head Start program served over 80,000 children, making it the largest Head Start program in the country. 

Cooling centers, a service that provides a safe and temperature-controlled environment in times of extreme weather conditions, would also be required to check immigration status under the new policy. Short-term shelter and housing assistance programs would also have to submit to the policy change. Soup kitchens, food banks and senior nutrition programs like Meals on Wheels, would be affected as well.

The change has the potential to have a devastating impact on Head Start specifically, since the program has a 97% target enrollment rate. If regional hubs don't meet that target, they risk losing federal funding and shutting down altogether. 

The Trump administration justified the policy change by stating it was essential to prevent taxpayer-funded public resources from being used to encourage illegal immigration.

Bonta and the other state leaders have a different viewpoint. In the lawsuit, the states raised the concern that the proposed policy change not only violated the law by not providing prior notice and opportunity to comment, but would also cost states hundreds of millions of dollars.

They argued that the verification requirements would harm the states’ economies by forcing the programs in question to implement new systems and train staff to verify immigration status, taking additional resources away from public services.

“The decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island ensures that millions of families can continue to access critical services without fear of denial or disruption while our litigation continues,” said Bonta in the news release.