NEW YORK, CMC – The New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) has condemned the Trump administration’s plans to restrict undocumented Caribbean and other immigrants from enrolling in Head Start, the federally funded preschool programme, as well as more than a dozen different programmes.
“The Trump administration is choosing to strip vulnerable children of the tools they need to succeed,” Murad Awawdeh, NYIC’s president and chief executive officer, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
“For decades, programmes like Head Start have improved the well-being of low-income families by preparing children for school, addressing their cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development.
“Now, the Trump administration is cruelly targeting undocumented children by barring them from this critical lifeline–an escalation of its anti-immigrant agenda. All children, regardless of immigration status, deserve our care–because they are children.
“When the government denies access to education, safety, and care to the next generation, it doesn’t just harm those children; it harms the health of our communities,” Awawdeh said, adding “we demand that the Trump administration immediately reverse this inhumane policy and protect every child’s right to learn, grow, and build a better future for themselves”.
The Trump administration announced its plans late last week to restrict undocumented Caribbean and other immigrants from enrolling in the programmes that include those focused on substance abuse, mental health, drug treatment, and behavioral health.
The administration issued a new interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA).
Under this interpretation—which differs from the one in effect when the law was passed—programs intended for the good of the community are no longer exempt from rules that limit benefits eligibility to citizens and legal residents.
Instead, Awawdeh said eligibility will be determined based on immigration status threatening access to Head Start for around 50,000 immigrant families nationally. “The cuts will harm thousands of immigrant New Yorkers,” he warned.
Trump had made deportation and restriction of benefits to immigrants the centerpiece of his election campaign. Since taking office on January 20, he has focused on the mass deportation of Haitian and other immigrants in his executive orders.
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