Undocumented Students No Longer Eligible for Career, Technical Training Programs
Credit: J. David Ake / Getty Images- For over 25 years, undocumented immigrants have been able to access career and technical education programs.
- Recent guidance from the Trump administration removes eligibility for these students.
- This will impact individuals taking part in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs.
- Some student advocacy groups chided the policy reversal.
Undocumented immigrants can no longer participate in federal career and technical education programs.
The Department of Education (ED) issued new guidance July 10 that states noncitizens aren’t eligible for technical and adult education programs, breaking with nearly 30 years of tradition.
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While undocumented students have not been eligible for traditional federal financial aid — like federal student loans or the Pell Grant — they have been able to participate in career and technical education (CTE) programs funded by the federal government.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, hardworking American taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for [undocumented immigrants] to participate in our career, technical, or adult education programs or activities,” ED Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement.
“The department will ensure that taxpayer funds are reserved for citizens and individuals who have entered our country through legal means who meet federal eligibility criteria.”
The department’s guidance contends that CTE programs fall under the purview of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA), which disallows undocumented people from accessing most federal benefits.
PRWORA passed in 1996, and former President Bill Clinton issued guidance a year later that exempted CTE programs.
That exemption has remained in place for over 25 years.
New guidance from President Donald Trump’s administration now overrules this precedent. ED called the Clinton administration’s previous exemption erroneous and said it “mischaracterized the law.”
Trump’s administration says CTE programs established under the following acts would no longer be allowed to enroll undocumented immigrants:
- Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act (Perkins V)
- Title II of the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)
- Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)
Grantees of these programs must verify participants’ eligibility and ensure that federal funding is not distributed “to support programs and services that serve” undocumented people.
Some advocacy groups have spoken out against the Trump administration’s policy change.
The Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration stated that the move could undermine community development and workforce readiness. The group also pointed out that community colleges provide many of the affected programs.
“Expanding postsecondary enrollment, degree completion, and skill development opportunities for immigrant students, including those who are undocumented, strengthens local and state economies, supports workforce needs, and enhances our nation’s competitiveness and long-term growth,” said Miriam Feldblum, president and CEO of the Presidents’ Alliance.
CTE programs often provide training to help adult learners break into new professions or advance in their field.
For example, one WIOA program is the National Farmworker Jobs Program. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers can utilize the program to “stabilize or advance” their agricultural jobs. According to the Department of Labor, just over 8,000 adults received career services and training through the program in 2022.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that approximately 40% of hired crop farmworkers in 2022 were not legally authorized to work in the U.S.
In related news, ED recently announced that it reached an interagency agreement that will have the Department of Labor administer WIOA and CTE programs. The two departments previously signed the agreement May 21, but it wasn’t until the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in on July 14 that the two departments were able to move forward.