Court halts Trump’s ‘unlawful attempt’ to gut social services for Caribbean immigrants

NEW YORK, CMC – New York Attorney General Letitia James has welcomed a court ruling preventing the Trump administration’s “unlawful attempt” to stop essential health, education and social service programmes for low-income families, including Caribbean immigrants.

“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,” James said, adding “we fought back, and today a federal court ruled that this cruel and unjust policy of deprivation is unlawful and cannot stand”.

In July last, the Trump administration announced a new policy redefining broad swaths of federally funded programmes as restricted “federal public benefits”, now subject to immigration verification under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA).

James said the new policy meant that critical safety net programmes would have to check the immigration status of every person they serve, and turn away any person who could not verify their status.

She said providers would have been prohibited from helping undocumented Caribbean and other immigrants, but also some immigrants with legal status, including student visa holders, temporary workers and exchange visitors.

In addition, the attorney general warned that even United States citizens and lawful Caribbean and other residents could be denied services, as many low-income individuals or immigrants fleeing dangerous situations lack government-issued identification.

James led 20 other attorneys general in the lawsuit challenging the policy and secured a preliminary injunction in September 2025.

James said a federal court earlier his week granted the coalition’s motion for summary judgment, vacating the administration’s sweeping rules that threatened programmes like family planning clinics, food banks, domestic violence shelters, adult education, and community health centers.

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