This statement can be attributed to Wendy Cervantes, director of immigration and immigrant families at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) 

Washington, D.C. February 20, 2025 – Last night, the Trump Administration issued another baseless and misguided executive order on immigration. This latest order is yet another attempt to scare immigrant families from accessing the essential services they need to thrive. 

The reality, which the order itself acknowledges, is that undocumented immigrants are already ineligible for the vast majority of federal programs. States and localities receive federal funding for essential services that benefit all residents, regardless of their immigration status. These programs support our economy and promote public health and healthy child development. Cutting funding will hurt everyone who benefits from those programs and create a chilling effect, especially for U.S. citizen children living in a mixed-status family.

This executive order is just the administration’s latest effort to try to perpetuate misinformation about immigrant families and bully states into implementing its mass deportation agenda, which threatens to upend state and local budgets. The need for families to provide for their children doesn’t go away just because the Trump Administration and Elon Musk say so. If the federal government withholds funding, states and localities will need to determine how to support their residents.

CLASP remains committed to supporting immigrants and their families, and we call on our anti-poverty partners to push back against the Trump Administration’s continued efforts to scapegoat and harm our immigrant community.