Press Release  AG Campbell Supports Challenge to Unlawful Elimination of Jobs Corps Program

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined a coalition 21 other state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in Cabrera et al. v. Department of Labor et al. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful termination of Job Corps, a national program that offers career training and housing to young Americans from low-income backgrounds.  

“For six decades, Job Corps has been a lifeline for young people in Massachusetts and across the country—offering not just job training, but housing, healthcare, and a path to independence for those who need it most,” said AG Campbell. “The Trump Administration’s attempt to illegally dismantle this critical program is both cruel and unlawful. I am proud to fight alongside my colleagues to protect and preserve this critical program for thousands of disadvantaged young people who rely on it.” 

Job Corps has nearly 100 residential campuses across the country, and the Trump Administration’s illegal effort to terminate the program threatens to leave thousands of vulnerable young Americans homeless. Established by Congress under President Johnson 60, Job Corps has provided millions of young people from low-income backgrounds with a unique combination of education, training, housing, healthcare, and community.

Unlawful termination of the program would impact tens of thousands of young Americans who are currently enrolled at campuses in all fifty states. As just one example in Massachusetts, the Westover Job Corps Center in Chicopee serves approximately 500 students annually -- the majority of which live on campus -- and has an estimated annual economic impact of $35 million for the local community. Students living and working at the Westover center are offered career and technical training in six industry areas, including advanced manufacturing, automative, construction, health care, hospitality, and transportation.

Today’s amicus filing reaffirms that an injunction is necessary to protect vulnerable state residents and promote state goals in education and workforce development. It further reinforces that the Trump Administration cannot violate federal law and the Constitution by terminating congressionally mandated programs it opposes. 

The attorneys general urge the Court to grant an injunction to prevent the federal government’s unlawful termination of the Job Corps program. A copy of the amicus brief is available here.

AG Campbell is joined in submitting this brief by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.

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