The Trump administration has pulled the rug out from under America’s safety net: In mid-July, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, Education and Agriculture issued notices barring many legal immigrants, as well as those without legal status, from using numerous public services funded with federal dollars. Should these policies go into effect—reversing 30 years of law—critical programs including Head Start, community mental health services, suicide hotlines and emergency housing assistance could be shuttered, and millions, including U.S. citizens, could be denied help when they need it most.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the policies necessary to end the diversion of “hardworking Americans’ tax dollars to incentivize illegal immigration.” A coalition of state attorneys general has called the revision an unmitigated crisis in public health and safety, bringing suit to block the changes, which are temporarily on hold until mid-September.
The new rules mark a dangerous and seismic shift in interpretation of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, legislation born of a broader agenda to vilify the poor and others accused of gaming the system.
At its core, this is an extension of the administration’s relentless desire to close the border—a tool to sow discord and consolidate power.