Colleges pull back as Trump cuts programs that help migrant students

Some colleges have laid off staff members and cut back services after the Trump administration halted funding for programs that help students from migrant families attend and succeed in college.

The College Assistance Migrant Program, also known as CAMP, has served about 2,400 students annually at colleges and universities since its creation in 1972. Focusing on first-year students, with continued support through their college years, CAMP provides students with internship resources, mental health counseling, tutoring and financial aid.

In June, the U.S. Education Department notified colleges that they would not receive funding for the program — about $2.4 million over five years — this fall. The halt comes as the Trump administration criticizes migrant education programs, claiming in its proposed budget for 2026 that such programs are "extremely costly" and "not been proven effective."

Since schools enroll, and receive funding, for the program in five-year cycles, many schools in the middle of that period were shocked to learn about the abrupt pause.

At Millersville University in southeastern Pennsylvania, four staff members who administered the program and advised students were laid off this summer. The 21 students in the program remain on campus, but the support they get from the CAMP program has been canceled.

"Until we receive the funding, we can't continue this year's program," said Lara Willox, dean of Millersville's college of education and human services.

As at many schools, CAMP at Millersville is also linked with programs that help migrant students earn their high school equivalency diplomas, known as HEP.

In August, a group representing colleges, universities and nonprofit organizations that participate in the CAMP program sued the Trump administration, saying that since Congress appropriated the funding, the money should be restored.

"The closure of these programs located at trade schools, community colleges, and four-year colleges and universities will mean that nearly 7,000 students throughout the country will not receive the support they need this year," Katie Covington, the president-elect of the National HEPCAMP Association, said in a statement.

Typically, the Education Department opens the process for schools to apply for CAMP during the fall semester. This year, the department has yet to open applications for the next cycle, or to notify colleges whether it will resume funding.

Officials at the Education Department did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

On Sept. 10, a group of U.S. senators from both parties sent a letter to Secretary Linda McMahon of the Department of Education and the Office of Management and Budget, urging the department to release the funds allocated to migrant student programs for Fiscal Year 2025.

"This funding is necessary to ensure these educational programs provide critical access to educational opportunities for agricultural farmworker students," the letter stated.

In 2022, there were an estimated 2.9 million workers engaged in seasonal or migratory farm work, according to the National Center for Farmworker Health. For many of their children, frequent relocation can make the transition to college difficult.

Since its inception, CAMP has helped tens of thousands of migrant students, including Sofia Mireles-Gonzalez, a recent graduate of Michigan State University.

"You have to navigate a lot of firsts," she said. Mireles-Gonzalez grew up in the Rio Grande Valley region in Texas and knew she would face many challenges as a first-generation college student.

The CAMP program helped her find a footing at a large university far away from her home. It "really gave me the opportunity to learn a lot, make those connections and have a college experience that allowed me to grow."

An uncertain future

Michigan State, where over 1,000 CAMP students have received support since 2000, is raising the roughly $5,000 needed this year to offer temporary financial assistance.

Around the country, the sudden halt in funding has forced many participating colleges "to lay off staff and to prepare for the closure of projects," said Covington of the national CAMP/HEP organization.

At Millersville, "I think our first hope was that it would be a temporary pause," said Willox, the dean. "And that the money would be released, and we could then continue moving forward."

Instead, as it enters the fifth year of its funding cycle, the university is trying to keep the program alive, at least for the fall semester, without federal funding.

"I think we're going to continue to learn how disruptive this has been as the year goes on," said Willox. Having laid off the staff who work with students, the university is hoping to enlist "second and third year students to be mentors and peer tutors for the first year students."

Data from the national HEPCAMP organization shows that it does produce results, with 76% of students in the program completing their first year and 96% continuing into the second.

A 2024 report to Congress from the Education Department, highlighted in the letter to Secretary McMahon, showed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, CAMP programs retained more first-year college students than the national average, reaching an 81% retention rate at four-year institutions in 2021 and 2022.

"These are results that can help strengthen the economy for agricultural farmworker families and rural communities," the letter stated.

South of Los Angeles, California State University San Marcos has seen similar success.

"We see it in the year-to-year reports that we're able to document the success of our program," said Maria Venegas Escobedo, director of CAMP programs there.

The university enrolled about 40 students into the program each year. Reports to the Education Department showed that, over the past decade, about 90% of them made it through their first year, and 97% of CAMP sophomores returned to campus for their junior year.

"It just speaks to the caliber of the work that we do and the support that we give our students," said Venegas Escobedo.

With the federal funding halt, the university has had to end the financial support for CAMP, such as financial aid for books, computers, and other classroom essentials. And Venegas Escobedo is working to find alternative sources for mentorship and academic counseling.

"We're still here, able to respond to questions," she says, but CAMP students have been referred to a different campus office that provides coaching and academic support for students.

As someone who credits CAMP with helping her get a degree, Mireles-Gonzalez says she hopes the program can survive: "As the first in my family to get the opportunity to go to college, I want to see that opportunity for others."

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