Judge Mary McElroy has made permanent a temporary injunction blocking a July 2025 Trump administration directive that would have barred certain immigrants from federally funded programs such as Head Start. The rule sought to reclassify many social services under the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act to exclude "nonqualified aliens," a category that includes some visa holders and TPS and DACA recipients. Democratic attorneys general from 20 states and D.C. sued, and the judge found the administration failed to follow required rulemaking procedures. Supporters of Head Start warned the policy could have stripped health and education services from immigrant communities and threatened underfunded programs with closure.
Federal Judge Permanently Blocks Trump-Era Rule That Would Have Barred Some Immigrants From Head Start
A federal judge in Rhode Island has permanently blocked a Trump administration directive that would have denied certain immigrants access to a range of federally funded programs, including Head Start preschools, community health clinics and adult education services.
U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy, a 2019 appointee of President Donald Trump, had previously issued a temporary injunction that prevented the rule from taking effect; on Monday she converted that stay into a permanent order.
What the Rule Sought to Do
The administration's policy, issued in July 2025, would have reclassified many federally funded social service programs under the 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act. That change would have effectively made those programs off-limits to people labeled as "nonqualified aliens."
That designation covers people who are in the United States unlawfully but also extends to certain visa holders and recipients of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) — groups that in some cases receive temporary protection from deportation and work authorization.
Legal Challenge and Ruling
Democratic attorneys general from 20 states and the District of Columbia sued to block the directive. In her decision, Judge McElroy called the directive "unlawful," concluding the administration did not follow required procedures for changing existing rules and describing the steps taken as "procedurally invalid." The ruling leaves intact the current regulatory framework that governs access to Head Start and similar programs.
Requests for comment to the Departments of Labor, Education, Justice and Health and Human Services, which were named as defendants, were not immediately returned. The Administration for Children and Families, the HHS division that oversees Head Start, said it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
"From cancer screenings to food banks to early childhood education, the federal government's attempts to decimate the social safety net would have been catastrophic for working families," said New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of the officials who joined the suit.
Potential Impact
Advocates warned the rule could have stripped immigrant communities of vital health and educational services and could have imposed administrative burdens that force underresourced Head Start programs to close. The affected populations already face exclusions from full Medicaid benefits and some federally funded food and cash assistance programs, and the proposed reclassification would have widened those exclusions.
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