September 9, 2025 (updated September 12, 2025)
EducationCounsel DEEP DIVE: Who Benefits? Considerations for Education Leaders regarding Immigrants’ Access to “Public Benefits”
Our new EducationCounsel Deep Dive, Who Benefits? Considerations for Education Leaders regarding Immigrants’ Access to “Public Benefits,” informs education leaders working across systems—from early childhood through higher education—about changes in the Trump Administration’s interpretation of what constitutes a “federal public benefit” under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA). These reinterpretations seek to narrow immigrants’ access to federal benefits, including some that have been available to children and students for decades.
This new Deep Dive also addresses:
- how these recent interpretations depart from prior agency guidance,
- legal and practical challenges in implementing the Administration’s new approach, and
- recommendations for systems leaders as they seek to continue to provide programs and services to children, students, and families under rapidly changing legal and policy contexts.
Click here to read Who Benefits? and click here to download a PDF version.