The Common Ills

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Trump PANICS as FBI REPORTS SURFACE in Epstein Files…

The Snapshot

Thursday, February 19, 2026. The former Prince Andrew is arrested in the UK, Donald Chump tries to wish Epstein away but the public feels he's involved, THE NEW YORKER explores his involvement in an interview with THE MIAMI HERALD's Julie K. Brown, and much more.

Major news out of England this morning, Megan Specia and Michael D. Shear (NEW YORK TIMES) report:

British police on Thursday arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, over suspicions of misconduct in public office after accusations that he shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy.

The arrest was a stunning blow to the British monarchy, which has been rocked by scandals for decades and is now having to endure the spectacle of having one of its members arrested. The move escalated the long-running crisis for Buckingham Palace over the former prince’s ties to Mr. Epstein and allegations of sexual abuse of a young woman.

His brother, King Charles III, in a statement confirmed the arrest. The Thames Valley Police said in a statement that it had “arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.”

Brittney Melton (NPR) notes, "U.K. media reports that this man is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew. Police have investigated whether Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential government information with his late friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, while he was U.K.'s trade envoy. Mountbatten-Windsor admits to ties to Epstein and settled a lawsuit with one of Epstein's underage victims, but denies wrongdoing." Jamie Grierson (GUARDIAN) adds:

The current whereabouts of Mountbatten-Windsor is unknown. It is understood neither the king nor Buckingham Palace was informed in advance of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.

Mountbatten-Windsor, who turned 66 on Thursday, has always denied any wrongdoing or accusations against him. Thames Valley is one of a number of police forces to have assessed allegations that resurfaced when the so-called Epstein files were published by the US Department of Justice.

The force previously said it was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew, and claims he shared sensitive information with the disgraced financier while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.

Oliver Wright, one of the force’s assistant chief constables, said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office. It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence. We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”

The family of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexually abusing her when she was 17 as part of a sex trafficking ring run by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell – allegations the former prince has denied – released a statement.

Her family members Sky and Amanda Roberts and Danny and Lanette Wilson said: “At last. Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty. On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK’s Thames Valley police for their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”

SKY NEWS notes the likely course that follows:

A former police chief has given an insight into what happens next after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest.

"This is massive. You don't have to arrest somebody that you're investigating - you can ask them to provide a statement through their lawyer, you can invite them to a police station without arresting them - [so] to actually arrest, it would suggest there is some significant evidence," Dal Babu, former chief superintendent of the Metropolitan Police, says.

"I should imagine at this stage they'll have prepared interviews. There'll be an interview strategy.

"They'll present those questions to Andrew, and I think his lawyer would probably advise him at this stage to make no comment.

"And then once that has occurred, he'll be released under investigation."

Michael D. Shear (NEW YORK TIMES) notes others have been exposed in the release of The Epstein Files:

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is not the only member of the British elite who has been caught up in files connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.

The files, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, have also put a harsh spotlight on Peter Mandelson, a longtime British political operative who served as ambassador to the United States, and Sarah Ferguson, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife and the one-time Duchess of York.

[. . .]

The emails and text messages in the latest release of Epstein files revealed that Ms. Ferguson had carried on a long and personal correspondence with Mr. Epstein long after the disgraced financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution in 2008.

In a 2009 email, Mr. Epstein suggested that he paid for flights for “the Duchess and the girls from Heathrow to Miami,” an apparent reference to travel for Ms. Ferguson and her daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. In 2010, in another email exchange, Ms. Ferguson called Mr. Epstein “a legend,” adding, “I really don’t have the words to describe my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.”

Mr. Epstein also urged Ms. Ferguson to help him improve his public image, suggesting in one email that she release a statement asserting that he was “not a pedo.” There is no evidence that she did so.

Ms. Ferguson’s representatives have not responded to requests for comment since the new files were released. In 2011, she admitted that he had helped pay off her debts and apologized for her “terrible error of judgment” in “having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein.” The new files show that she continued to exchange emails with Mr. Epstein after that admission.

That's in the United Kingdom. In the United States?

Donald Chump has made clear that he wants to 'move on' from The Epstein Files and his Epstein scandal. However, the American people aren't there with him on this. Sarah Davis (THE HILL) reports:

More than half of Americans in a new poll said they believe President Trump is attempting to conceal crimes committed by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In an Economist/YouGov poll released Tuesday, 53 percent of respondents said they believe Trump is “trying to cover up Epstein’s crimes.” Twenty-nine percent of those polled said they do not believe the president is trying to conceal these crimes.

Additionally, exactly half of the poll’s respondents said they believe Trump was involved in Epstein’s illicit activities, while 30 percent said he was not involved.

Guess they didn't buy Chump's claim to have been "exonerated." Julie K Brown addressed that claim this week:

President Donald Trump continues to insist that he didn’t know about Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement with underage girls. While speaking to reporters Monday, Trump seemed to acknowledge that he had been accused of wrongdoing associated with Epstein announcing that he had been “totally exonerated” and adding that he has “nothing to hide.”

But the files raise even more questions about the President’s association with Epstein — particularly about how much he knew and when he knew it — as well as his effort to protect the powerful people whose names are listed as suspected co-conspirators in the files.

To be clear, there are two sexual assault allegations involving minor girls who have accused Trump of rape that are part of the public record. Both are referenced in the Epstein files.

There is no evidence that their stories are true. But they shouldn’t be dismissed either.

David Remnick (THE NEW YORKER) interviewed Julie K. Brown of THE MIAMI HERALD who has been reporting on the Epstein case for many years now:

David Remnick: Well, let’s start with what we know about the relationship between Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein. What is Trump saying it was, and what’s the reality? What are we learning?

Julie K. Brown: Trump has said that he really wasn’t as good of friends with him, that he had a falling out with him, that they had some events together—he was at Mar-a-Lago at some events, but he’s downplayed that, I think it’s fair to say. From what we have seen, they were much closer—certainly much closer than I thought they were when I did this story originally. I think we’re getting new information that shows that maybe they were closer, but we don’t find any evidence thus far that he was involved in any of Epstein’s crimes.

Can you be a little bit more specific about the relationship, what it consisted of?

Well, I think that they were sort of competitors, in a way. They were both very wealthy, connected men, and I think they competed. We know that there was this real-estate deal in the early two-thousands in Palm Beach, and then Trump jumped on it, and it ended up in a bidding war, and Trump won. And then he sold the property—it was this massive mansion—for oodles and oodles of money. Of course, Epstein was really mad about that. So I think Trump wanted to show off his wealth to Epstein, and Epstein wanted to show off his wealth.

That’s a situation of rich guys, whose is bigger, et cetera.

Yes.

What about their social relationship? And they seem to bond—to put this delicately—over the question of women.

Yes. They definitely did. Trump did an interview saying that [Epstein] likes women and he really likes them young. And so that was the same way they competed over money. They were also, I think, to some degree, competing over their prowess with women.

[. . .]

You’re publishing a story that has implications for the President of the United States where the Epstein case is concerned. What does it say?

We have found a document in these files that is an interview that the police chief of Palm Beach gave to the F.B.I. And in that interview the police chief, Michael Reiter, told the F.B.I. that back when Epstein’s case had first come to the attention of the police, and Epstein was first reported as a suspect in doing this—

What’s the year?

Around 2006. Around that time period, Trump called the police chief and he said to the police chief, “Thank God you’re doing something about him, because . . .” And I’m just quoting off the top of my head. I don’t have the document in front of me, but he said, “Thank God—everybody knew this.” He also knew about [Ghislaine] Maxwell’s role [as Epstein’s associate], calling her “evil.” We have this F.B.I. report of this interview that the chief gave to the F.B.I. where he is recalling this conversation that he had with Trump many, many years ago about Epstein. So it does raise some questions about how much Trump knew—whether he knew the extent of Epstein’s crimes.

So, in 2006, Donald Trump has what kind of communication with the police chief?

He called the police chief on the phone.

And there’s paper on that?

There is. There’s an F.B.I. report. It’s an interview that the police chief gave to the F.B.I.

So what does that suggest to you about Trump—that he was doing the right thing or that he was complicit in some way?

I think people are going to look at it one of two ways: A) that he was somewhat of an informant for the police, in that he called them after this case became active and he became aware of it, and admitted, “Wait a minute, I know he was doing this.”

Or you could look at it another way, in that he was also one of those people who knew, and really didn’t go to the police before then to tell them what he was doing. The police were sort of hearing that there were things happening at Epstein’s mansion well before this, but, every time they went to investigate, all the women who were coming and going who they saw on the street and stopped were of age. So they couldn’t find any evidence that a real crime was being committed. But if in fact Trump knew that there were some crimes being committed against underage girls, and he knew about it and didn’t tell them ahead of time, I guess people will look at that from a different vantage point, in that he should have told the police sooner.

We noted THE ECONOMIST-YOU.GOV poll already, Ryan Mancini (THE HILL) reports on another poll:

Most Americans say they believe the files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein show that wealthy, powerful people are rarely held accountable, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

The poll found that nearly 7 in 10 respondents, or 69 percent of Americans, believe their views were captured “very well” or “extremely well” by a statement saying the Epstein files “show that powerful people in the U.S. are rarely held accountable for their actions.”

Reporting on the poll, Jason Lange (REUTERS) gets off this howler, "The Republican president, who socialized extensively with Epstein in the 1990s and 2000s, has denied any knowledge of the financier's crimes and says he broke off ties in the early 2000s, before Epstein's plea deal." Again, refer to the 2006 report on Chump talking to a sheriff about Epstein's crimes. Seems like that should have been caught before Lange's report was released. And Adam Lynch reports:

Despite however hard Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi may declare the Jeffrey Epstein case finished, it’s likely not, reports Left Hook author Wajahat Ali. Nestled within the Epstein Files, is evidence that the FBI interviewed a woman who credibly accused President Donald Trump of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.

“This woman also accused Jeffrey Epstein, and she successfully settled a lawsuit in 2021 with the Epstein estate,” Ali reports.

“Investigative reporter Roger Sollenberger discovered this bombshell and told Ali that “The allegations and FBI interview are landmark revelations, undermining the White House’s protestations that Trump hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing and showing instead that the U.S. government has been aware of a credible Trump accuser in the Epstein files.”

In the summer of 2025, the DOJ included the redacted woman’s allegation in a 21-page internal slideshow presentation as well as in an internal email chain involving the government investigation into Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, Ali wrote. But she’s not the not the only credible accuser.

There is another incident that allegedly occurred at Mar-a-Lago in 1994 involving a 14-year-old girl who later became a key government witness against convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.

Chump's name came up yesterday in a deposition taken by the House Oversight Committee. Cheyenne Ubiera (THE MIRROR) reports:

President Donald Trump's attendance at Victoria's Secret runway shows with Jeffrey Epstein has been described as "odd" by Les Wexner, it has been claimed.

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett spoke with billionaire Les Wexner, the co-founder and chair emeritus of Bath & Body Works. During their closed-door interview, Crockett shared Wexner's comments about Trump.

"There were always young girls looking for an opportunity to model, and there were always rich and powerful people on the other side, dangling a carrot, saying, ‘I will give you the life you are seeking.’ Yet ultimately, their stories are the same," said Crockett. "They are stories of abuse. They are stories of trafficking at the highest level."

The state representative revealed that when Wexner was asked about Trump and Epstein being in the same room, he said he didn't quite remember, "he imagined that yes, that possibly happened because he did remember that Donald Trump also would like to show up to the Victoria's Secret runway shows.

"That was a little odd to him because Donald Trump as not engaged in fashion whatsoever."

The House Oversight Committee traveled to Ohio to the billionaire's compound to take his statements. Kaia Hubbard (CBS NEWS) reports:

Billionaire retail tycoon Les Wexner, a longtime benefactor of Jeffrey Epstein, told House lawmakers that he was "duped by a world-class con man" and knew nothing of Epstein's crimes, according to his prepared testimony before the House Oversight Committee.

Wexner, who hired Epstein to manage his money, was among members of Epstein's inner circle who were subpoenaed for testimony last month. Members of the Oversight Committee and staff members deposed Wexner behind closed doors in his home state of Ohio on Wednesday.

Wexner, 88, previously led the former parent company of Victoria's Secret and worked with Epstein beginning in the mid-1980s. In his prepared statement, which CBS News obtained, Wexner outlined how he cut ties with Epstein in the aftermath of Epstein's 2006 arrest. Documents show the two men stayed in touch, but Wexner said they never spoke again.

[. . .]

Democratic Rep. Dave Min of California argued that Wexner's claim that he was not aware of Epstein's abuse is "just not credible."

"I realize he's an elderly gentleman, memories fade," Min said. "But the reputation of Jeffrey Epstein is very clear. Everyone around Jeffrey Epstein knew exactly what he was up to."

Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the committee, said there were no Republican members of Congress at the deposition, though he said there were GOP staff members.

The Committee traveled to meet Wexner. Don't marvel over people responding in polls that there are two systems of justice in the United States.

On the topic of polls, Jason Lange (REUTERS) notes, "U.S. public approval of Donald Trump's immigration policies fell to the lowest level since his return to the White House, amid signs he is losing support among American men on the issue, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. Just 38% of respondents in the four-day poll, which closed on Monday, said Trump was doing a good job on immigration, a priority issue for the administration. The rating was down from 39% in a January Reuters/Ipsos poll and as high as 50% in the months shortly after Trump returned to power." At SALON, Amanda Marcotte notes Kristi Noem and Chump's actions and policies:

The havoc Noem brings is most obvious when it comes to her deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to blue cities as a paramilitary force rather than a law enforcement agency. The secretary has worked to make herself the face of these invasions, which have invariably led to pandemonium. In recent weeks, America has watched as agents have tear gassed civilians, made race-based arrests that have scooped up citizens and even small children, and sent two non-violent citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, to their graves.

As a presidential candidate in 2024, Trump billed himself as the savior who would end crime and bring order to what he falsely portrayed as a turbulent social landscape due to imaginary immigrant crime sprees. While the president appears to personally enjoy the violence and unrest his homeland security secretary has unleashed, even he can see the polling that shows it is backfiring. But this was inevitable, especially with Noem at the helm. Her personal behavior in office has been as bizarre as her theory that masked federal agents terrorizing innocents would read as bringing order to the public. More than anyone besides Trump himself, Kristi Noem is responsible for the current DHS funding shutdown.

On Renee Nicole Good, as Kat noted last night in "Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, U2," U2 has just released a song memorializing Renee.

Meanwhile, Max Burns (THE HILL) notes the lack of perspective in the White House:

This week marks the beginning of Lent, a time when millions of Americans practice the seemingly lost arts of inner reflection, repentance and humility. At its core, Lent is a reminder that not every impulse deserves to be gratified, and not every internal thought should be shouted into the public square of social media.

Imagine that.

One place we won’t see any reflection, repentance or humility is the White House, where even the impersonation of Christian ethics has fell out of favor long ago. Introspection has no place in an administration so totally defined by self-aggrandizing rhetoric, hate-mongering and gleeful bigotry. The Trump administration wears its personality cult egotism on its sleeve as a point of pride for the whole world to see.

It is rich irony that, after decades warning about how Democrats would corrupt our country with state-sponsored atheism and moral relativism, Republicans can now lay claim to perhaps the most godless and amoral administration in American history.

Just ask President Trump, who still defends sharing (and then blaming someone else for sharing) a blatantly racist video portraying Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Or ask Attorney General Pam Bondi, who boldly declared that Americans shouldn’t think about Jeffrey Epstein’s child sex trafficking because the stock market was up. This is what passes for moral leadership in today’s decaying Republican Party.

As Betty noted last night in "Updates on Chump's war on history, the Crooked Court's new stock measure and who does Chump's Tweets," White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt declared yesterday that Chump does all of his own social media posts. This despite telling us a few weeks back that someone other than Donald posted the racist video. Which is it, Karoline?

Brad Bannon (THE HILL) observes:

Donald Trump is in deep do do according to three national surveys conducted this month. Polls for the Associated Press and NBC presented presidential performance ratings underwater more than 20 points. The 47th president just missed the terrible trifecta with a negative job rating of 19 percent in a survey for Quinnipiac University. It’s like he just played the slot machine in one of his old bankrupt casinos and came up all lemons.

His job rating is now as deep underwater as the Titanic is in the cold icy depths of the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, ominous storm clouds hover over the beleaguered MAGA citadels in the White House and on Capitol Hill. The midterm election is a referendum on the incumbent chief executive. Unless there is a sharp increase in President Trump’s fortunes in the next eight months, his party will pay the price for his high crimes and misdemeanors in November.

The nature of public discontent is obvious in a recent national poll conducted by YouGov.com for The Economist. The biggest concern among adult Americans is inflation, with no other problem even close to it on the top 40 public opinion hit parade. The lame duck president’s score for fighting inflation was negative 28. You do the math.

That’s hardly a surprise since prices rose by 2.4 percent in the ninth month of his encore administration. This is the guy who promised repeatedly during his 2024 campaign that he would bring prices down on Day One of his second term. Americans are holding him accountable for his broken promise.

The two major initiatives of Trump term two have only served to intensify the economic carnage. His terrible tariffs have raised consumer prices. His big bad budget gave tax cuts to bankers and billionaires which accelerated the income growth for the wealthy at the expense of middle Americans.

While mothers and fathers struggle to feed their families at home, Trump has focused on fights abroad. The public wants cheaper butter but Trump’s priority is more guns. He has rattled a blunt saber against NATO allies Canada and Denmark, taken control of Venezuela and threatened Iran. But he has done little to improve the health, wealth and well-being of hardworking American families.

Trump’s callous indifference to the economic hardships faced by ordinary Americans is no skin off his back.

Monique Danao (MONEYWISE) notes:

As Donald Trump renews calls for sweeping tariffs and tougher trade negotiations, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is sounding an alarm, saying that the policies could leave Americans “measurably poorer.”

Krugman, a Nobel laureate recognized for his research on international trade and a frequent commentator on U.S. economic policy, says the warning isn’t about Wall Street or abstract trade balances. He says it’s about higher prices at home — from groceries and household goods to cars and construction materials — as tariffs function like a tax on consumers.

In a recent Substack post, Krugman argued that Trump’s approach to trade risks pushing the United States toward what he calls an “economic divorce” from significant trading partners. If that happens, he says, Americans are likely to feel the impact in their wallets.

“Now US economic relations with other nations have turned abusive, and the world is moving toward divorce,” Krugman wrote.

Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:

Lawmakers: “The Trump Administration’s policies risk eliminating a significant number of trained caregivers from an already strained system, reducing access to care and raising child care costs for American families”

“Rather than making child care more affordable, President Trump has done the opposite by withholding billions of dollars in federal funding from child care providers, and rescinding protections meant to ensure that child care providers can stay afloat”

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.) joined U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Representative Mike Quigley (D-Ill.-05), and over 40 other lawmakers in raising serious concerns about how the Trump Administration’s cruel immigration policies are shrinking the child care workforce and driving up costs for American families.

The letter to the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children & Families (ACF) comes amid reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity at and around child care facilities and worsening staffing shortages nationwide.

The American economy heavily depends on immigrant workers in the child care sector, making up approximately 20 percent of the U.S. child care workforce and totaling more than 282,000 workers. In parts of Florida, Texas, New York, and California, that share is even higher — nearly 40% in California, which has almost half a million foreign-born early childhood educators. Over 1 million Californian parents — both immigrants and U.S. citizens — depend on reliable access to child care so they can continue working.

“These policies — paired with the Administration’s recent moves to slash federal support that made child care more affordable — are an attack on American families,” wrote the lawmakers.

Since Trump began his indiscriminate mass deportation campaign in Los Angeles last June, student and staff absences have risen at California child care centers. At the same time, Republican influencers have harassed workers at Somali-run day care centers in San Diego, including at their homes, confronting operators about unsubstantiated claims of alleged fraud.

Over the last year, President Trump has enacted a cruel and aggressive immigration agenda, including eliminating legal immigration pathways, stopping lawful immigration processes, and ramping up indiscriminate ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) raids. Those arrested include critical child care providers taking care of children in their communities.

The Trump Administration’s immigration policies have significantly impacted immigrant child care workers and the families whose children they care for. Following the Administration’s decision to revoke a longstanding policy protecting “sensitive locations” from ICE and CBP raids, immigration enforcement activities are now occurring at child care facilities, with agents apprehending and detaining employees in front of children and their families. Other child care workers have been stripped of their work permits and forced to leave their jobs.

These actions are pushing providers to leave the child care field, and programs have seen sharp staffing declines. Some estimates say the Administration’s immigration agenda could reduce the child care workforce by 15 percent — over half a million workers. This, along with Trump Administration efforts to slash federal support that makes child care more affordable, is an “attack on American families,” the lawmakers emphasized.

“As Members of Congress committed to supporting American families and maintaining an affordable, reliable child care system, we seek to ensure that federal enforcement practices are not unintentionally driving up costs, destabilizing child care programs, or undermining the safe, supportive environments that children need to thrive,” added the lawmakers.

The lawmakers requested that, by February 26, 2026, HHS share any information available regarding the impact of immigration operations on child care staffing shortages, including data on staffing shortages, enrollment declines, projected cost increases, and how coordination with DHS on enforcement actions may disrupt federally funded child care programs.

In addition to Schiff, Padilla, Warren, Duckworth, and Quigley, the letter was also signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.), as well as Representatives Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.-03), Becca Balint (D-Vt.-AL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.-01), Greg Casar (D-Texas-35), Judy Chu (D-Calif.-28), Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.-31), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.-09), Herb Conaway (D-N.J.-03), Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas-30), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.-04), Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.-03), Dwight Evans (D-Pa.-03), Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.-04), Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas-29), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.-51), Bill Keating (D-Mass.-09), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.-08), George Latimer (D-N.Y.-16), Summer Lee (D-Pa.-12), Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.-08), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.-07), Kelly Morrison (D-Minn.-03), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.-06), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.-AL), Mark Pocan (D-Wis.-02), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.-03), Mark Takano (D-Calif.-39), Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.-20), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.-25), and Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.-24).

Earlier this month, Schiff and Padilla joined Warren, Alsobrooks, Quigley, and 56 other lawmakers in demanding answers from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on the impact of children’s exposure to ICE and CBP’s escalating violence in American communities, which threatens to leave them with lasting physical and psychological trauma.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Assistant Secretary Adams:

We are concerned about how the Trump Administration’s immigration agenda is making it more difficult for Americans to find and afford child care. Immigration policy changes — including terminations of Temporary Protected Status (TPS), the elimination of other lawful immigration pathways, and immigration raids in and around child care programs — are driving child care providers out of the workplace, exacerbating child care workforce shortages and high prices. These policies — paired with the Administration’s recent moves to slash federal support that made child care more affordable — are an attack on American families. We request information regarding how the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Administration for Children & Families (ACF) is assessing these workforce impacts and what steps ACF is taking to prevent further disruptions to child care services and to protect families from rising costs and reduced access.

The child care sector depends heavily on immigrant workers. Nationally, immigrants make up approximately 20 percent of the child care workforce — more than 282,000 workers. That share is even higher in some areas, including parts of Florida, Texas, New York, and California — in some cases as high as 70 percent. The vast majority of these workers are immigrants who have lived in the United States with lawful status, playing by the rules, building stable lives, and caring for children every day — yet they now risk losing their ability to work in the United States, as this Administration has abruptly terminated most TPS designations and dramatically limited pathways to lawful immigration and access to corresponding employment authorizations. To date, this Administration has stopped most lawful immigration processing for refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants from 39 countries. Many others have been arbitrarily stripped of status.

On Day 1 of his presidency, President Trump began ordering the elimination of legal immigration pathways and revoked a long-standing policy that protected areas such as child care facilities and other “sensitive locations” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. During his first year back in office, President Trump also ramped up indiscriminate ICE arrests, with over 86 percent of people arrested by ICE lacking any charges or convictions for violent crimes. Some of those arrested have been critical child care providers taking care of children in their communities. For example, a nanny in Wisconsin was reportedly detained by ICE after a routine check-in despite the fact that she is an asylum seeker with no criminal record. Meanwhile, some child care workers have been stripped of their work permits, such as several immigrant teachers working at a preschool in Washington D.C. who lost their work authorizations and were forced to quit.

Alarmingly, some ICE enforcement activities have occurred at child care facilities themselves. In November 2025, federal agents apprehended an employee at a Chicago early-education center. During the drop-off period, a vehicle followed a staff member into the facility’s parking lot and federal agents apprehended the employee as children and parents watched. Other providers have reported similar enforcement activity, including child care centers in Minnesota that described worker detentions — with one provider at a Spanish immersion program being detained in the child care center’s parking lot — and “visits” from federal agents.

Apparently because of these developments, providers are leaving the child care field, and programs have seen sharp staffing declines and have begun canceling child enrichment activities to minimize time outdoors and avoid attracting ICE’s attention.

The Trump Administration’s policies risk eliminating a significant number of trained caregivers from an already strained system, reducing access to care and raising child care costs for American families. According to some estimates, the Administration’s immigration agenda could reduce the child care workforce by 15 percent — over half a million workers — as the child care sector loses both immigrant and U.S.-born workers. Another study estimates that “a doubling of ICE arrests is associated with a 12 percent reduction in child-care employment” for immigrant women since President Trump took office, and approximately “39,000 fewer foreign-born child care workers.” Indeed, economists warn that “deportations and restrictive immigration policies . . . could increase scarcity” in the child care workforce. The Economic Policy Institute warns that this “labor supply shock” would likely raise prices across the economy, as providers are forced to compete for fewer qualified staff. Because child care programs already face high turnover and must meet strict staffing ratios, even modest hiring challenges can force them to scale back or shut down.

Immigration enforcement against child care workers not only impacts the child care sector but also risks second-order effects for American families’ employment. When child care is disrupted, many parents must cut work hours or leave the workforce altogether to care for children. One study estimated that, from February to July 2025 alone, the “doubling of ICE arrests led to about 77,000 fewer employed U.S.-born mothers.” Already, child care is one of the most burdensome expenses for American families. Nationwide, families spend an average of more than $13,000 each year on child care, and up to almost $30,000 in some states. And even when families can afford child care, these services are in short supply; more than half of parents report waiting months for available slots. Rather than making child care more affordable, President Trump has done the opposite by withholding billions of dollars in federal funding from child care providers, and rescinding protections meant to ensure that child care providers can stay afloat. Now, this Administration’s immigration agenda will exacerbate the child care crisis for American families, worsening child care workforce shortages, increasing child care prices, and driving Americans out of the workforce.

As Members of Congress committed to supporting American families and maintaining an affordable, reliable child care system, we seek to ensure that federal enforcement practices are not unintentionally driving up costs, destabilizing child care programs, or undermining the safe, supportive environments that children need to thrive. To better understand these dynamics, we respectfully request that ACF answer the following questions by February 27, 2026:

1. Since January 2025, has ACF collected or analyzed data on child care staffing shortages, including the rate of programs reporting difficulty hiring or retaining early childhood educators?

a. Has ACF assessed how immigration policy changes may be contributing to shortages? Please describe any analyses or other information ACF has provided to DHS regarding how immigration enforcement actions may unintentionally disrupt federally funded child care programs or children’s access to care.

b. Please provide any internal projections regarding how ongoing reductions in the child care workforce may affect child care availability, waitlists, program closures, or prices over the next 12-24 months.

2. What steps is HHS taking to assess and mitigate the effects of immigration-related enforcement actions on the safety and stability of early learning environments, and to ensure that such actions do not disrupt children’s access to federally funded child care programs?

a. What guidance, if any, has ACF issued to state or local grantees regarding maintaining program stability in communities experiencing sudden workforce disruptions or enrollment declines? Please provide copies of relevant guidance.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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