07.11.2025 / Statement

Trump Administration’s Notice Rollbacks Existing Policy and Unjustly Denies Immigrants’ Access to Critical Health Services

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Anthony Wright, Families USA’s Executive Director, issued the following statement in response to the Trump Administration’s release of a notice under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reinterpreting the definition of “Federal public benefit” in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). The notice effectively rescinds the long-standing policy that extended lawfully present immigrants’ access to certain health care programs and other important federally funded health care programs.

“Once again, the President is cruelly targeting immigrants by uprooting decades of the law’s legal interpretation and is unjustly denying access to critical health services and health supportive education resources to lawfully residing immigrants who are not listed as “qualified immigrants,” such as people with Temporary Protected Status, asylum seekers, special immigrant juveniles, and others. This harmful new shift further restricts lawfully residing immigrant populations from accessing important care funded through programs, including Head Start, the Health Center Program, the Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Support Services Block Grant and the Title X Family Planning Program.

“Denying children health care is cruel and counterproductive. While targeting immigrants, these Trump Administration actions serve to undermine our collective public health and underfund the health and human service providers that all of our communities and children depend on. We all have a stake in ensuring that all our neighbors get affordable preventive and primary care, rather than costly and inefficient episodic care in emergency rooms.

“These continued attacks on immigrant communities, many that are already ineligible for federally funded public benefits, perpetuate harmful and untrue rhetoric around immigrant families and further prevent those eligible from safely accessing necessary health care. HHS’s latest action against immigrants, including children and families, would also create a chilling effect and lead to public health consequences. “We stand in solidarity with all immigrants and will continue pushing back against this harmful policy and ensure they have access to the services they are legally entitled to.”